President's Message

A Request for Help

As we begin our 19th year in Brighton, I am writing to request your support and contribution toward the purchase and installation of a new storage shed and cement pad that are needed to help us comply with new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations for animal facilities. While we have been regulated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service since our inception, for the first time in our 47-history, we are now also under the jurisdiction of USDA and later this month, we will be inspected.

Under USDA guidance and the Animal Welfare Act/Regulations, areas used for animal care, feed, equipment, or related materials must be managed in a way that supports cleanliness, drainage, safe storage, and protection from contamination. The new shed and cement pad will help provide a clean, durable, and compliant area for storing our kennels. These kennels are not only required for travel to schools and events; they are critical equipment and must be easy to access in case of an emergency evacuation, such as a fire.

The cost of this project is approximately $7500 which includes the shed, cement pad and additional materials required to comply with the new regulations mandated by USDA. All of us have been working diligently to renovate and repair numerous areas around our mews and Brighton office...as you may imagine, picturing your own homes, after 19 years the "stuff" tends to pile up! The long hours we're spending on this effort also mean that we've had to temporarily curtail our tours and programs to meet the deadlines.

We are asking members, supporters, and community partners to consider making a contribution in any amount to help offset these costs. Your donation will directly support our ability to remain in compliance, protect the health and safety of our birds and our incredible docents, and maintain a clean and responsible facility for continued use. A very special thank you is due to senior docent Jenni McAllister and her husband Brian, for their $2250 donation of the cement pad! Jenni is our longest-serving docent, having been with us since 1999...you can see her with our turkey vulture in our Dillon story below.

Facility Upgrade Donations

Thank you for considering this request and for your continued support. Your generosity will make a meaningful difference and help ensure that we are prepared to meet the required standards moving forward.~Anne Price, President

L to R: Brian McAllister (doing the selfie!), Savannah Grout, Jenni McAllister, Anne Price (who just showed up to check progress!) and Hector Zamarron, owner of Odyssey Concrete & Landscaping

So what are we putting on the pad? A very cool, upgraded Tuff Shed with a four-foot wide door, sloping roof, sturdy floor, and built-in shelves. We'll be able to back our van right up to it for easier off-loading of kennels, people and equipment after programs. Thank you for your generous support!

5280 Peregrine Watch Mystery Continues

As chance or fate would have it, Peter was home feeling under the weather, as you might be able to tell from his raspy voice. He was trying to sleep after a very restless night, when a text notice pinged him awake, and instead of ignoring it, he took a look… it was from Cricket, our spy in the sky in Denver’s downtown area.

Cricket had sent Peter a distant picture of a falcon perched on the south side of 1875 Lawrence St., which is the 5280 Peregrine Penthouse. By the way, Cricket is the lady who first alerted us to peregrines nesting downtown three years ago. Peter fell out of bed and stumbled downstairs to log into our 5280 Peregrine Watch camera, and he focused it over to the south side of the building. Unfortunately, the bird was out of view. So, while he watched the live feed, he decided to scan through the previous recorded segments from the camera’s perspective fixed on the nest tray area. And against all odds, there was the falcon! After watching both peregrines earlier in the season copulate and enter the tray numerous times, making scrapes as if they were going to nest right in front of our camera, they simply vanished.

Since then, despite one of our directors walking around extensively, looking for telltale signs of nesting, nothing was found. And no juveniles have been reported flying nor food begging, which would have been easily heard by personnel on the streets below. Now, on July 30th, our camera’s time stamp confirms one of them back in the nest tray earlier that morning. Is this evidence that their first attempt failed? Is this another attempt to lay eggs? Is this a second clutch? Does someone out there have a better theory? We're all ears!

A Few REF History Links

 White House Visit, Colorado’s First Environmental License Plates, Best Raptor Book Ever,  Our Raptors Cruise to Alaska, Consulting on National Memorial Sculpture, US Naval War College Special Program, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Birds of Prey International Skiing Championships, International Falconry Festival, National Geographic, State & County Fairs,  Natural Solutions Consulting Services

Flocks of Other Ways to Help!

A Special Anniversary Offer on All Three of Our Books!

Celebrate our 46th anniversary by purchasing our

three books at this special price!

Just click

AWARD WINNER

Help Our Book Fly Higher:

Order Today!

Winner of the 2020 Skipping Stones Honor Award for Nature and Ecology Books

Reviews

“A unique book aimed at introducing young and beginning birders to the world of raptors. . . . creative for certain! Helpful, too.”–Jim Williams, Wingnut Blog, Minneapolis Star Tribune



“A very cool new book.”–Doc Kirby, On The Bookshelf

“Bird enthusiasts of all ages will find this book full of educational fun.”–Skipping Stones

“Beautiful, educational coloring book.”–Katie L.Burke, American Scientist

“All the essays were well-written and provided lots of easy-to-understand information, which allows the reader to identify many different types of raptors. I also really enjoyed the further reading at the back of the book about the kestrel box. The instructions were clear-cut, and the activity was easy and fun to do.”–Hannah, age thirteen, Kids’ BookBuzz

Orders Here! Or you may order on Amazon. Peek Inside

Read more about the author and the illustrator.

New Earrings Arrive!

Presenting: Falco mexicanus!

We are VERY excited about Jabebo's newest earring design, the hardy and beautiful prairie falcon. This large falcon, about the same size as a peregrine, is found only in the dry, Great Basin of North America. Surviving in landscapes tested by drought, wind and snow, this versatile falcon will hunt mammals, as well as birds. Get yours here!

OI (Organic Intelligence) and the World's Only Owlgorithm Work for REF

Another first for REF is being introduced in this video. Let us know what you think, and how we might use our exclusive owlgorithm to enhance your raptor wisdom and experiences!

Special thanks to The Kroenke Group & THF Realty for extending our lease at very affordable rates for the next 5 years. Support like this ensures we will make it through these challenging times.

Thanks to our past and future partners, THF Prairie Center Development, L.L.C., THF Prairie Center Investors, L.L.C. and the City of Brighton, for creating the best intersection in Colorado just a minute or two north of our headquarters!

As the new villages grow at Prairie Center, so do the streets with cool names! Check out some of the street names!

WISH LIST

We're still looking for a gently-used, 20-25 foot RV (Class C) that would serve as a mobile office for traveling programs around Colorado and farther away. Or maybe you have an SUV or pickup truck you would like to donate? We can put it to good use! Please give our office a call if you have a vehicle you think we could use!

(303) 680-8500

Thank you!

Raptor Chronicles

Previous Issues Archived Here

Just in case you've missed any issues, we currently have issues dating back to January 2020.

An exclusive creation for us, this fine pewter pin has been hand painted to let everyone know what you think of America's living national symbol! Available in a very limited edition, while supplies last. This beautiful pin measures 1 1/8" by 1 1/2". Two clasps keep it firmly attached. $50 each includes shipping. Discounts for multiple purchases. Click here to order.

If you don't wish to use PayPal, then please click here.

Join the 82 Families Helping Our Raptor Sanctuary

Help Us Reach 100 Supporting Families!

Telling Our Story at the Dillon Ampitheatre

Their faces still tell our story. as we begin our 47th year this September! Thank you for your continuing support as members, friends, docents, volunteers, and enraptured strangers. Special thanks to Jeff Wang for capturing these moments at Dillon.

Eagle View Center Fourth of July

We visit the Sue Corbett Active Adult Center at Eagle View once per month with one of our birds for the "Feathered Friends" program. A rotating cast of raptors allows a wide range of presentations, and roughly twice per year, we bring one of our eagles. Being a short five-minute drive away, it's the ideal "practice" venue for our new raptor ambassadors who are learning the ropes of classroom presentations. Although this group can get a bit rowdy, Anne says they still listen better than most first graders!

Of course, the Fourth of July always requires our extroverted female bald eagle, especially on this special July, America's 250th birthday!

Accipiter Garden Makeover

No, these aren't the newest landscape architects! Late July and early August is when Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii) fledge here in the Front Range area, meaning cities from roughly Pueblo to Fort Collins, Colorado. These urban "Coops" are highly acclimated to human neighborhoods, and are very comfortable in yards, and around animals, vehicles, gardens, etc.

Given our prolonged and profound drought this year, Jeff Wang found these siblings inhabiting a yard in Loveland where they took turns drinking and bathing in the wheelbarrow. It will take about three years before both sexes have the red eyes of the adults, though they will have gray backs and rusty chests at one year old, if they survive their first winter.

All this delightful sculpture (year-round Christmas tree?) needs is a loafing bird decoration!

Thank you once again, Jeff!

In addition to the United States of America, our Facebook, Newsletter, and YouTube followers are found in the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, China, France, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Automatic Monthly Donations: Thanks to everyone who has set up a monthly donations via PayPal and Zelle. We have people from both coasts, a few states in the middle and in Colorado contributing automatic monthly pledges...thank you all!

REF Staff: Anne Price, President & Curator; Peter Reshetniak, Founder & Director of Special Projects; Savannah Grout, Mews Manager; Karen Ogle, Assistant Mews Manager

Docents & Volunteers: Kristy Bortz, Clarissa Cigrand, Megan Considine, Kim Kistler, Linda Julia, Jackson Lincoln, Jennifer McAllister, Robert Mitchell, Karen Ogle, Mary Ann Ottinger, Peggy Plaus, Anne Price, Jennifer Redmond, Peter Reshetniak, Beverly Rice, Mitch Skinner and Ann Stanz

Docents in Training: Heather Allen