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Raptor Chronicles
By Colorado's Oldest Raptor Sanctuary
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President's Message
On January 7, David and Scott Menough made their final broadcast/podcast of their long-running program, BirdTalk. As some of you know, I've been calling in once per month, usually the first Saturday, to chat with listeners about the raptor of the month, as well as share upcoming REF events. David and Scott have sold their respective Wild Birds Unlimited stores and are enjoying some well-earned retirement, including time with grandchildren and birding travel. The Menough brothers were one of the first businesses to promote our Colorado Respects License Plates when they were first available, way back in August 1999. Their enthusiasm and approachable aspect to backyard bird-feeding and nature enjoyment has surely encouraged an entire generation of folks to appreciate birds and advocate for nature. We'll miss you guys!
For those of you following our social media pages, we've just organized our YouTube page with playlists. If you're looking for videos of nesting bald eagles, special projects, or some of our programs, they're all organized by topic. It makes finding great pieces on specific types of raptors much easier...take a look.
No one really likes change, but another change we were made aware of recently is that Amazon's Smile program is shutting down on February 20th. Thank you to all of you who've made the few extra clicks to support us through your Amazon purchases, especially during the huge surge in online shopping which took place during the worst of the pandemic shutdown. For those of you in the Colorado area, please remember that you can support us with your King Soopers purchases through their Community Rewards program...the info is always at the bottom of our newsletter.
We've also made the difficult, but prudent decision to not hold a Spring Open House this year. The continued rise in HPAI
(Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza) cases in Colorado is very troubling, and there are now occurrences in mammals, including a black bear, mountain lion, and several skunks in the county just north of ours. Although shoe coverings and foot-baths for shoes are excellent precautions, the prevalence this year appears to be higher than it was in 2022. We are still allowing tours of up to six people at a time via our online reservations system, and everyone will be required to either disinfect their shoes and/or wear foot coverings in our mews to protect our birds.
Ready for some GOOD NEWS? We're returning the Denver Botanic Gardens on Friday, April 7th for Raptor Day! Details are below, with some exciting new features and a guest appearance by our dear friend and author Stacey Patterson, migrating in from Los Angeles to speak at the event. Hope to see many of you there, and please stay tuned for future updates on public events to support our work!!~Anne Price, President
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Raptor Day at Denver Botanic Gardens Returns! |
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Please join us for Raptor Day at DBG on April 7th! Ticketing information can be found here. We are very excited to partner with DBG once again to share our wonderful raptors with a wider audience who enjoy the outdoors, and excellent raptor habitats! There will be multiple opportunities to meet our birds and engage with our handlers in Mitchell Hall, the Freyer-Newman Atrium and the Helen Fowler Library. A brand-new film, shot and produced by us, will also be shown in the Sturm Family Auditorium.
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We are thrilled to announce that the author of our two Fidget books, Stacey Patterson, will be featured in the library for children's story book time throughout the day, which will run from 10:00AM to 2:30 PM. Autographed copies of Fidget's Freedom and Fidget's Folly will be available for sale in the Freyer-Newman Atrium throughout the day. There are timed entry slots available on the Denver Botanic Gardens website listed above, so we encourage those of you with small children to plan your day around a reading, a visit with a peregrine falcon just outside the library, time in Mitchell Hall with the rest of our raptors, and a restful viewing of the 20-minute film in the auditorium.
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Peter's first great-horned owl nest find for this season is conveniently located just five minutes from our office in Brighton. The scientific name of this species is Bubo virginianus; the genus Bubo describes some of the largest species of owls in the world, including the Eurasian eagle owl, and spotted eagle owl of Africa. The earliest nesting raptor in the Denver area, some parents are already feeding hungry babies. We'll track this owl nursery to see how things progress...stay tuned!
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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 43nd 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 Fly Higher:
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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As promised, here are the first earrings for 2023! The iconic, secretive and beautiful northern goshawk is the largest of the three North American accipiter species, and all three are found here in Colorado! With their deep red eyes, misty gray bellies, and long tails, these birds are occasionally seen during the fall and winter in Denver, but they prefer to hunt in coniferous forests. The model for the left-hand earring was the female we had for 17 years, donated to us by a falconer after fracturing her left wing. Thanks again to our wonderful partners at Jabebo. Buy them here!
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First They Came for Eagles, Now They Come for Whales. |
Very few birding organizations bring any attention to the devastation caused by wind turbines to the lives of various raptors. Eagle deaths now number in the thousands. Hidden far from sight, offshore wind farms are looking like the culprits associated with the death of hundreds of whales. This first story illustrates what few wish to consider, and the second story comes from a co-founder of Greenpeace, which began its rise to fame as the saviors of whales.
~Peter Reshetniak, Founder& Director of Special Projects
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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 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
in case you missed any issues, we currently have 44 issues dating back to January 2020!
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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. Click here to order.
If you don't wish to use PayPal, then please click here.
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After watching this ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) make a long, gliding approach, followed by a wing-over and drop to its target behind a little mound, Peter determined the big hawk was at the edge of prairie dog hole.
Obviously, the hawk had missed and was just hanging out. Maybe it was hoping the curious little mammal would poke its head up for a look? Hunting on a cold day as it was, one would hope the hawk would be rewarded for all its efforts. Unfortunately, most hunting attempts, regardless of the species, succeed on average only ten percent of the time. It's hard work for little reward, and both luck and skill are involved. Starvation is a constant threat during the first year of life, especially during long, cold winters.
This ferruginous hawk is in adult plumage, but the eye is still fairly pale. This means that this is a younger adult bird, but he or she has made it through that first, tough year. Older birds, like most American buteos, have a deep, chocolate-brown eye. Here's to better luck next time!
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Join the 56 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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Star K Ranch Nest Active Early |
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On February 1, 2023, Peter paid his first visit to the Star K Ranch nature center in Aurora. Much to his surprise, he filmed this exciting development. As a reminder, last year this nest failed. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this early record of incubation bodes well for a successful nesting season! The video below from February 7th, is testimony to the male's prowess in providing fine dining for his mate. She sees him off at a distance flying into the nest, but instead of bringing the plump prairie dog directly to her, he diverts to a nearby tree where he replenishes his energy expended from the hunt. Even though she flies over to the same tree, she doesn't intrude into his space. She eventually returns to the nest, and once he finishes, then he finally delivers the rest to her. Uber eats anyone?
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Below is a shot of the Commerce City Nest, which Peter filmed on February 16, 2023. This is the nest we've monitored for many years, but unfortunately, it's failed five years in a row. Without any way to collect evidence from abandoned eggs or from blood/tissue samples we have no way to speculate about the failures. One or both of the parents may be infertile. but they're back and hanging out at the nest. Peter will attempt to document copulation and hopefully, incubation. Let's keep our wings crossed! |
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In addition to America, our Facebook followers are found in the following countries:
United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Pakistan, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Mexico, Australia and France!
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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: Kristy Bortz, Kevin Corwin, Karen Gonzalez, Kim Kistler, Linda Julia, Jennifer McAllister, Zachary Nastri, Karen Ogle, Peggy Plaus, Anne Price, Jennifer Redmond, Peter Reshetniak, Beverly Rice, Mitch Skinner and Ann Stanz
Docents in Training: Robert Mitchell
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