Flight of the Hawk sculpture

A steel hawk with a 14-foot wingspan settles onto a nest 42 feet above the ground at this Fairfield County park just outside Lancaster. Visit Fairfield County says the red-tailed hawk is made of more than 3,000 torch-cut pieces shaped and welded by local artist Ric Leichliter, then hot-dipped in galvanizing solution and painted in the bird's natural colours. The same listing names smaller Ohio woodland animals at the park, including white-tailed deer, turkey vultures, a wild turkey gobbler and a hen. The Athens Post reported in 2022 that the hawk and the other wildlife sculptures were created and donated by Leichliter in 2006, and a 2015 visitor blog noted that every sculpture then in the park was his work. The park belongs to the Fairfield County Parks District and is tagged on the county's public art trail. Visit Fairfield County's listing, last updated in April 2024, gives its hours as open year-round, dawn to dusk.