Happy Thanksgiving!

As we travel, cook, shop, bake and gather this week, I hope all our readers and dedicated members will enjoy hearty food and drink with family, friends and loved ones. While the specific holiday of Thanksgiving was made official by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in December 1941, Abraham Lincoln's declaration in 1863 began the tradition of celebrations on the last Thursday in November. Lincoln's declaration grew out of an informal celebration of thanks for the blessings of liberty, tranquility and union which President George Washington had enumerated in his proclamation order in October 1789. The designated day of celebration was November 26, 1789.

The concept of giving thanks is nearly universal among human societies. From bountiful harvests to the birth of children, being grateful keeps us grounded and connected to each other and the Earth. I am thankful for a long and mild autumn here in Colorado, which I believe has given many young raptors at least another 30 days or so to perfect their hunting skills before the first snowflakes fall. Most of all, I remain very grateful for the support and dedication of you, our members...thank you for keeping our raptor flock healthy and thriving!~ Anne Price, President

Raptor ID Class 2025: Sold Out Again!

Once again, our annual fall raptor identification class on October 11th sold out within just a couple of weeks! We were very pleased to see a number of new faces at this signature event, held at Barr Lake State Park. Forty students were treated to Karen Metz's specially curated slides focusing on the raptors of Colorado's shortgrass prairie. Thirteen raptor ambassadors provided close up views to compare with Karen's slides, generously donated by many Colorado photographers, including Jeff Wang.

Special thanks to Park Manager Lisa Gill and her staff for their helpful collaboration and use of the Education Room!

Two Brown and White Raptors: One Falcon, One Buteo

Just a few hundred yards north of where the burrowing owl family lived during the summer months, Peter has been seeing a prairie falcon and several red-tailed hawks.The owls have now migrated south to Mexico, and their neighbors, the Swainson’s Hawks, have headed even further south to their wintering grounds in Argentina.

This is the first time the prairie falcon did not move off when Peter's vehicle stopped. In fact, after about 30 minutes the big falcon got bored with his presence and began to doze off, so he moved further north and within another hundred yards or so, a beautifully marked juvenile red-tailed hawk watched him approach. It too didn't seem concerned and Peter could tell by its behavior that the hawk was scouting the area for food.

Note the very pale iris color of this year’s hawk, and the bird’s tail feathers as well. The variety of red-tail hawks in Colorado this time of the year is remarkable but can also be very confusing for the beginning birder.

Remember, as Karen Metz says in her raptor ID classes, "It’s not just another red-tail!"

As autumn continues, we're starting to see bald eagles arriving from up north, and Peter is watching for the first Harlan’s hawks to arrive. Sandhill cranes are moving through as well. Stay tuned as we head into the winter season of raptors on Colorado’s Front Range!

The Considine Family Foundation Peregrine Camera Statistics

Our 5280 Peregrine Watch project for 2025 had some very interesting statistics and results. Nine videos were produced reporting on the return of the peregrines to 1875 Lawrence St in downtown Denver. Despite the falcons not nesting where we thought they would, the behaviors that we were able to capture and convert to videos garnered quite a following. 31,369 views were documented and the most popular video was titled Episode 6:The Blue Plate Special, which received 15,369 views. Those numbers continue to grow. However, the highest count comes from the year before, when we had just confirmed the nesting peregrines and Peter was filming from a tripod on the street. 5280 Peregrine Watch #6 from 2024 currently shows 46,921 views.

Because the falcons didn't nest in the same location as in the previous year, we weren't able to live stream the results; this limited what we were able to produce and publish. However, we have more raw footage captured by the remarkable 4K camera, which will be part of a special video to be featured at our next Raptor Day at Denver Botanic Gardens on June 5, 2026. With a little luck, we may be able to include some new video if the falcons return to 1875 Lawrence. Regardless, be sure to come to DBG to see the 5280 Peregrine Watch special on the big screen...that's where the exceptional detail recorded by this camera will really become apparent.

For anyone who is new to our site or hasn't had the chance to see the peregrine story, you may see all the videos here. Many thanks to the Considine Family Foundation for their generous support of this project...they made all of these videos possible!

Please add your comments and subscribe to our YouTube channel. It helps our raptor audience grow!

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

Double Eagles at Highlands Ranch

We really enjoyed our visit and presentation to the residents of Highlands Ranch, Colorado on November 1. This community is home to Wildcat Mountain, where raptors have been documented nesting for over 100 years. The Highlands Ranch Community Association Backcountry spreads out to the south and west of this imposing land feature, and this 8200 acre preserve provides the ecosystem and prey upon which the resident pair of golden eagles depend on for survival. Elk, mountain lions, bears, bobcats and dozens of species of birds also inhabit the rolling hills, dappled with scrub oak and ponderosa pines.

We've been working with the Backcountry biologists to monitor and document the nesting pair of golden eagles since 2013; you can view some spectacular and interesting glimpses into the family life of the eagles here. Anne and Senior Docent Beverly Rice brought our 3 year old female golden eagle and our 25 year old male to the Southridge Rec Center for a special program about goldens, designed to answer questions and give the residents an up-close view of their aquiline neighbors.

Photos by Karen Ogle, Assistant Mews Manager

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!

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AWARD WINNER

Help Our Book Fly Higher:

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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!

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.

Don't Start a Birding Life List!

This is one of the most eloquent videos about the pros and cons of becoming a "Life Lister". Take a few minutes to view this short video and then consider your options before chasing that flamingo that was blown into your northern state by a hurricane.

Join the 89 Families Helping Our Raptor Sanctuary

Help Us Reach 100 Supporting Families!

500,000 owls to be killed and other proofs confirming Bonhoeffer's theory

Time to meet Dietrich Bonhoeffer's famous, but relatively unknown theory that is confirmed daily by the likes of Bill Gates and the blunders of political actions unencumbered by any cognitive process. This is simply more proof that a cognitive crisis is sweeping the planet and the species which cannot speak for themselves suffer the most. Our programs and our Newsworthy Page speaks for some of them.~Peter Reshetniak, Founder

Early Days at REF

This just might frighten any of you that were with us in the early days! The ghosts of the past have returned to haunt of few of us at REF. Peter found some very old VHS and BETA tapes documenting our early programs. Some clips were filmed by television staff covering our public appearances, while others filmed by local volunteers. We believe this tape was produced by Benjamin Thompson for a college film project. Stay tuned as we add more of these gems to our historical library. (And no laughing at how we looked back in the 80's and 90's!)

All-Hallows Summer at Second Creek

It was late afternoon on a classic Colorado fall day when Peter dropped by the Second Creek eagle nest to find both adults just hanging out. Both were relaxed and were in no hurry to go anywhere. They preened and roused (puffed up and shook rapidly), warming themselves in the late afternoon sun.

Peter filmed more than 45 minutes of them doing nothing more than you see in this video, and as he departed, he looked back and they appeared very content. Although they didn't produce any young this year, it appears they are back on their territory to try again next spring.

Stay tuned and please subscribe to our channel to keep more videos coming!

In Memoriam

"On The Wings of Eagles"

The individuals listed on this page of our web site have been placed there at the behest of families, friends, colleagues, or an anonymous party because they wanted that particular person to be associated with our eagles and all the sentiments and characteristics eagles imply. Peter is working on a video that will be added to the static listing page. Stay tuned and thank you to everyone who has added these names to our Soaring page. Thanks to everyone whose monthly and annual gifts support our birds and their stories.

Jeff Wang's Raptor Captures

Jeff's second visit to Navajo Bridge in Arizona proved very fruitful...witness the magnificent California condor, Gymnogyps californianus. North America's largest land bird, they can have wingspans up to 9.5 feet and weigh up to 24 pounds. Cousins to the turkey and black vultures of the United States, these New World vultures number around 569 individuals, living both in the wild and in captivity. A slow-reproducing species, they don't reach sexual maturity until six years of age, and lay only one egg every other year.

All condors are wing tagged with numbers and most also carry satellite transmitters, allowing officials and biologists to track movements, breeding, and intervene if a bird gets into trouble. A subadult bird is shown above, and a mature adult, wings spread in the sun, is below. For more information on this highly endangered raptor, visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Thank you 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, Karen Gonzalez, Kim Kistler, Linda Julia, Jackson Lincoln, Jennifer McAllister, Karen Ogle, May Ann Ottinger, Anne Price, Jennifer Redmond, Peter Reshetniak, Beverly Rice, Mitch Skinner, Ann Stanz and Jamie Ziegler

Docents in Training: Robert Mitchell and Peggy Plaus