Message from the President
Keeping this short and sweet, my message this month is to step outside early one morning, close your eyes, and inhale the first cool hints of fall. It's my favorite time of year, and the dusting of snow we had at some Colorado ski resorts this week has energized me!
Thank you for your support!
Anne Price, President
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Eagle Scout Project: New Tool Cabinet! |
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On July 25th, Eagle Scout Candidate Luke Steinmetze and his crew installed a brand-new tool cabinet at our mews in Brighton. Wider, taller and more heavily-constructed than the previous one (seen above),which was over 14 years old, this new and beefed-up version has a slanted roof with shingles for repelling rain and snow, and has been installed on a Trex base to keep the bottom as free of moisture and mice as possible. Our rakes, shovels, pool skimmer and other implements will finally be easy to reach and stay clean-ish! |
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The "cabinet", really a large shed, consists of two HEAVY pieces which were assembled off-site, and then hauled to our
facility to be installed and joined together in-situ.
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Adjustment of the doors, while REF Director and maintenance guru Kevin Corwin (in the black baseball cap) looks on.
Thank you Luke, Steve and crew!
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FALL OPEN HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT!
FINALLY! After 24 very long months and three missed gatherings, we are excited let everyone know that we are holding our
Fall Open House on Saturday, September 25th from 10:30AM to 1:00PM. Mark your calendars now! We won't be serving refreshments this time due to Covid, however we'll have water available and have the mews open for folks to visit, as well as raptors on the front porch to enjoy up-close and personal. We're looking forward to seeing our friends and supporters in person once again!
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Consulting Services: Too Many Rabbits? |
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If you work at a large professional campus or in an industrial setting, warehouse park, or even a golf course that is home to far too many cottontail rabbits, we have a non-toxic solution that simply eliminates these pests and turns them into raptor food. The video tells the entire story. We've created this proprietary trapping system which safely and discretely removes these pests and recycles them into food for our birds. Please all us at 303-680-8500 or send an email to raptor2@usaref.org. Note: this is not a system for small-scale areas like individual homes.
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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.
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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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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!
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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!
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Multi-Colored Peregrine
Pictures by Sheila Duvall
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This photo of a gorgeous peregrine falcon, photographed along the South Platte River not far from where Anne lives, makes her heart sing! The peregrine falcon the poster-bird for one of the most successful endangered species recovery efforts in history, and this bird is just over one year old, meaning she or he has beaten the odds and survived the first tough year of life, including a migration to and from the southern hemisphere. Up to 70% of young raptors do not live to see their first birthday, so this falcon is clearly a lucky and successful hunter.
We can tell the age by looking at the color of the plumage. During their first year, peregrines are a chocolate brown, with cream-colored stripes on the tail and wings. The buffy, salmon or white breast and belly (dependent on the subspecies) won't appear until the second year. Instead, they are cream-colored with thick, brown streaks and arrow points from their throats to their legs. In the photo above, you can see the newly-grown, gray adult feathers on the back, and two new central tail or "deck" feathers emerging from the base of the tail.
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In this second photo, the falcon is relaxing on a branch overlooking the river, in the classic "foot tucked up" pose. Most of the new breast and belly feathers have already appeared in the adult color, with black, horizontal hatch marks. However, you can see that the tail feathers are still from the first year, with the faded brown color and thin, cream stripes.
Our new male peregrine (also known as a "tiercel") is the same age as this wild bird, and will likely still have plenty of retained brown feathers through the fall. Be sure to attend our Open House to check out these plumage changes in person!
Sheila Duvall is a lifelong birder who's experienced avian adventures all over the world. The photos above were taken with a Canon T6i using a 100-400mm lens. Images have been corrected for heavy smoke and poor light. Sheila took the pictures on the morning of August 7th while birding with a group participating in the Breeding Bird Atlas counts with South Suburban Parks. Thanks to Roxanne Koehler, lifetime REF member, for the introduction!
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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.
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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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Western Energy Alliance Program |
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On July 28th we presented a program before the Western Energy Alliance's Annual Meeting at the Devil’s Thumb resort in Colorado. The program was titled: Eagles in the Energy Environment and our audience comprised approximately 100 representatives of the oil and gas industry.
Energy production, distribution, the environmental impacts and the costs to consumers are complex and multi-layered issues. Moreover, particularly in the American West, our two native eagle species differ greatly in their responses to human activity and other pressures such as drought and human encroachment.
In the audience at the Western Energy Alliance conference was Robert Bryce, an author, journalist, film producer, and podcaster who introduced himself to us during the cocktail hour before dinner. He understands the plight of eagles and has written about them on a regular basis. We are pleased to share his words with our members and followers. This first article is from Forbes. Others will follow.
We would like to thank our event sponsors, Occidental Petroleum, Caerus Oil and Gas, and the Western Energy Alliance for supporting many of the same principles keeping us energized for 41 years.~Peter Reshetniak, Founder
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Join the 45 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 monthly pledges automatically...thank you!!
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REF Staff: Anne Price, President & Curator; Peter Reshetniak, Founder & Director of Special Projects; Savannah Grout, Mews Manager
Docents: Elise Bales, Morgan Brantmeyer, Kevin Corwin, Karen Gonzalez, Bernhard Hafner, Kim Kistler, Linda Julia, Jennifer McAllister, Anne Price, Jennifer Redmond, Peter Reshetniak, Beverly Rice, Mitch Skinner, Ann Stanz
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