33 RAPTORS RELEASED IN ONE WEEK! – A SECOND CHANCE AT FREEDOM FOLLOWS RECORD ADMISSIONS

In our busiest year since opening in 1979, the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program is releasing 33 raptors in just a few days, including one Red-tail Hawk, two Swainson’s Hawks, 26 American Kestrels, one Cooper’s Hawk, two Great Horned Owls and a Golden Eagle.

The story was featured on a CBS 4 special report. That link is at the bottom of this story.

Click Here To Help Us Release More Raptors

Admissions are running 25% ahead of 2008’s record pace. So far 140 injured and sick eagles, owls, hawks and falcons have been admitted in 2009. Take out the anomaly of last year’s Windsor tornado victims, and we didn’t hit 140 admissions until mid-August 2008.

“It’s like O’Hare Airport in the winter,” said RMRP Medical Associate Mike Tincher. “We’re doing everything we can to get these healed birds in the air as fast as we can.”

RMRP admitted 264 raptors last year, and at the current rate, 2009 admissions could reach as high as 350. At the same time, we’ve received more calls and are delivering more education programs than ever before, and get one to three program requests each day!

Unfortunately, gifts have not kept pace. “We’re falling short each month of what it takes to care for so many birds and deliver so many programs,” said Executive Director Judy Scherpelz.

And costs keep rising. It now costs $500 to care for a broken Kestrel for six months (until recently, we had 40), $250 for just one surgery (we've had ten this year), and $100 to feed a Great Horned Owl or an Eagle for one month(we've had more than 20 stay for many months), while $50 covers the cost of just one admission (140 and counting). Every bird in our care requires good food, and many need surgery, x-rays and lab tests for diagnosis.

At a cost of $1,000 per day, the program needs supporters and "angels" to step forward to keep these amazing creatures flying free.

Click Here To Help Us Release More Raptors

Click Here For The CBS 4 Story