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Raptor Chronicles
By Colorado's Oldest Raptor Sanctuary
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Message from the President
A huge thank you to all of our friends and supporters who attended our Open House on May 14th!
Our guests wore disposable booties to keep our birds safe from the possible spread of Avian Influenza (AI). It's potentially present in chicken and even Canada goose droppings, so we're very grateful to all our visitors who sat down for a costume change before entering our facility. The sun was out, the clementines were very sweet, and spirits were high as we welcomed many new faces. A BIG thank you to everyone who donated items large and small, ranging from paper towels to AAA batteries. I’d also like to give a special shout out to Mike and Diane McCubbin who donated another 1.5 tons of pea gravel the week before. Our eagle enclosures are now more weed-resistant and ready for summer raking. All the goodies are deeply appreciated by our staff and docents!
This being Colorado, it snowed a week later. Nobody ever said my job was dull! ~Anne Price, President
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On Mother's Day Peter revisited three nests he had not seen for three weeks. The first nest was the golden eagle aerie on Wildcat Mountain. Sadly it was abandoned. Nobody visible anywhere. The second nest he visited was the Star K Ranch nest. The results were identical. No eagles visible anywhere. The final site was the Commerce City nest he has been monitoring for many years. Here, things appeared different at first, but after a few minutes it was obvious that this nest was also deserted. When you look carefully at the adult that is near the nest, you can see that this is a different bird from previous videos. Peter noticed the end of the beak was still dark, and some of the head feathers still contained traces of black in them. This might be a male who has just turned four years of age (guessing) and found what maybe a nest for the coming year. Now his job is to find a female. The almost constant presence of a solitary magpie emphasizes the barren nest. With the West Barr Lake nest being abandoned earlier and the collapse of the main Barr Lake nest as well, plus the death of the eaglets at Standley Lake, our Front Range eagles have experienced a serious hit to their reproductive attempts. The golden eagle aerie's failure was the greatest disappointment. |
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Lots of Other Ways to Help! |
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A Special Anniversary Offer on All Three of Our Books!
Celebrate our 41st anniversary by purchasing our
three books at this special price!
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Our Online Store is Open!
A new look...click on the image below.
SORRY: OWL PURSES SOLD OUT
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Help Our Book Take Flight:
Order Today!
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
“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
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Listen for us the first Saturday of the month at
12:00 Noon for five minutes of "raptorous"
delight with the BirdTalk Guys,
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At long last, our friends at Jabebo have given raptorphiles what we want: the most ubiquitous hawk working with humans around the world! The new Harris' hawk design took a bit longer than expected; getting the dark eyes to stand out against dark plumage turned out to be harder than Anne or Kevin expected, but we're thrilled with the results! Get yours here!
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Help us put another 1,000 eagles on the streets of our great state. Qualified members of REF are entitled to display them on their cars. Put Colorado's first and best environmental plates on YOUR vehicle!
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One of our members sent us this picture of his Cobra with our license plates. Anyone else out there with a classic car wearing our eagle? Send us your image! |
Special thanks to The Kroenke Group & THF Realty for extending our lease and keeping the fee at zero dollars though 2023! 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 newest intersections as of October 2021.
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WISH LIST
We're 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!
in Case You Missed it!
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Limited Edition Eagle Pin |
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 they 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. Just click to order.
If you don't wish to use PayPal, then please click here.
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Burrowing Owls Just Minutes Away |
Thanks to a tip from member and photographer extraordinaire, Jeff Wang, Peter visited a burrowing owl accessible for filming just ten minutes away from the Brighton office. Peter spent several days of filming at random times to capture this video. It shows several of the iconic species inhabiting the high prairie grasslands that make up the eastern plains of Colorado.
The fastest mammal in America, the pronghorn antelope was visible centuries ago in our state in very large numbers. Now it is rarely seen close to Denver. Numbers are recovering as you get further away from large population centers.
The prairie dog was once seen everywhere on the eastern plains. It is now a retreating species as human developments spread around the large metropolitan centers and encroach on its classic prairie habitat. Both the prairie dog and the burrowing owl are often seen in prairie dog colonies. The burrowing owl does not live with them, but takes over an abandoned hole the rodents have dug. There this diurnal owl raises its family, spending its nights in a subterranean abode. For more on this threatened species in Colorado just click.
Meanwhile enjoy five minutes with this wonderful little owl and stay tuned as we publish more videos. Maybe a family will make an appearance? The moon rise was filmed during the recent lunar eclipse.
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The most difficult raptors to capture on camera are the little owls. The burrowing owl (video) above being the easiest because it is diurnal and can be found with relative ease. However, when you are looking for the other little owls distributed at higher elevations in Colorado's mountains you hear them, but rarely see them. The darkness keeps their secrets and you have to know where and how to stalk them. Jeff's quick reflexes capture this beautiful snap of the northern saw-whet owl. And then it was gone! Stay tuned as we await Jeff's owl prowling results. |
With colleagues and friends in Russia and Ukraine this tragedy is very difficult to understand. This is Putin's war, and the old Slavic tribal animosities never linger far below the surface when irrational fear and anger rule. These two charities are very active feeding and providing medical supplies for my Ukrainian brothers and sisters in their homeland and in those bordering countries that have taken in millions of Ukrainian refugees. If you can help, please do whatever you can. Thank you very much. Peter Reshetniak: Founder
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This beautiful five-year study of our female bald eagle was photographed and composited by Marilyn Stevens. It measures
16″ x 20″ and is printed on fine photo paper with a “luster” finish. The print will fit many ready-made frames. To our knowledge this is the only available photographic sequence of an immature bald eagle showing off the plumage changes as she matures. Remember, both male and female look identical except for their size, but the male is about 30% smaller. Our foil seal is attached to the bottom of each print. (Not shown in the image above). This is a limited offer and the price includes shipping anywhere in the continental U.S.A.
Pick it up at our office for only $25!
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Join the 52 Families Supporting Our Raptor Sanctuary
Help Us Reach 100 Supporting Families!
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Have you signed up for the King Soopers Community Rewards Program yet? Do you have a Loyalty Card and digital account? Just visit https://www.kingsoopers.com/o/store-services/community-rewards , log in and enroll to have REF receive donated funds from King Soopers and Kroger! We'd love to increase the number of families supporting us...please share with your friends and family!
OUR COMMUNITY REWARDS NUMBER IS TF405. Simply log into your account, look for "Community Rewards" on the left hand side, and enter TF405. Our name will appear, and you can link your card to REF. You save on groceries, earn fuel points, and we'll receive a quarterly donation from King Soopers.
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Automatic Monthly Donations: Thanks to everyone who has set up a monthly donation via PayPal. We have people from both coasts, a few states in the middle, and in Colorado contributing automatic monthly pledges...thank you!!
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REF Staff: Anne Price, President & Curator; Peter Reshetniak, Founder & Director of Special Projects; Savannah Grout, Mews Manager
Docents & Volunteers: Elise Bales, Phil Carter, Kevin Corwin, Karen Gonzalez, Bernhard Hafner, Kim Kistler, Linda Julia, Jennifer McAllister, Anne Price, Jennifer Redmond, Peter Reshetniak, Beverly Rice, Mitch Skinner, Ann Stanz
Docents In Training: Kristy Bortz and Karen Ogle
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