Holiday Greetings to Everyone!
This special edition of Raptor Chronicles is a celebration of the return to one of the most intense, exciting and challenging events we do each year: the Birds of Prey World Cup Alpine Ski races in Beaver Creek, Colorado. As most of you know, this event was held in Europe last year to reduce travel to North America and keep the elite racers healthy. This year, Mother Nature threatened to derail the event once again by withholding the critical element of SNOW. Though she gave everyone a good fright, including our hosts the Vail Valley Foundation, cold "enough" temperatures and A LOT of snow-making allowed the races to occur. In a perfectly-ironic twist, FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) then asked Beaver Creek to begin competition a day early on December 2nd, because there was TOO MUCH snow in Canada to safely race on November 28th!
All of this is a perfect metaphor for the last year: folks coming together to improvise, pivot on a dime, and support each other with a common goal in sight. YOU, our members and supporters, have done the same for us. Thanks to your incredible donations, contributions of supplies and spreading the word about our ongoing mission, our programs have nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels. We've also increased the number of programs we're presenting at senior facilities around the Denver Metro area, as Covid procedures permit.
From our flock to yours, we wish all of you the happiest of holidays, filled with meaningful moments together!
~Anne Price, President
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Birds of Prey Return with a Video Tribute to Blondie on Jumbotron |
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Birds of Prey 2021 was, to paraphrase interviewer Mark Sassi, "a whole new raptor". We were so deeply touched when the Vail Valley Foundation announced that they wanted to assemble a video tribute to Blondie in advance of the first Super G race on December 3rd. Working with photos we provided, as well as their own images amassed since Blondie's first appearance in 1997, a truly moving video was played before the crowds in the stands. Anne was then interviewed by Mark, introducing Beaver Creek and by extension, the world, to our six-year old female bald eagle.
Our screech owls and new gyrfalcon were also on display in our booth in Village, just like old times. It was SO wonderful to see many of our Eagle and Summit County members in person once again!
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You may notice Anne wearing a mask in several of the photos and during parts of the video above. FIS protocol originally indicated that we could not be in the athlete corral. However, procedures were later approved for Anne and our bald to be "near" the athletes, with a KN95 mask...just for Anne, not the eagle! |
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Let's not forget, this is WORLD Cup Alpine racing! This convivial group of Swiss fans was all smiles as they crowded
around for a shot with America's national symbol.
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Sometimes getting the perfect shot requires a bit of maneuvering... We were so pleased that Silver medalist Mattias Mayer of Austria wanted to do the "traditional" athlete's photo with the bald eagle. There's a BIG smile under Anne's mask! |
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These guys from HAATS (High-Altitude Army National Guard Training Site) in Eagle, Colorado, stopped by to say hi. This base trains pilots from all over the world in safe mountain and high altitude flying. THANK YOU for your service, gentlemen! |
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None of this happens without the incredible assistance of the hardest working volunteers in Beaver Creek, the Talon Crew! They kept Anne fed and hydrated, and filled the water bottle for our eagle too! The "Blue Coat Brigade" also facilitated hundreds of photos with our eagle, and maneuvered us over to the Finish area for the National Anthem and awards each day. These ladies ROCK! Gratitude to Heather, Tamara, Anne-Marie, Sharon, Rebecca and Allison! |
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Due to very high winds on Sunday, December 5th, the second Downhill race had to be canceled. But thanks to some quick action by the Talon Crew and Kevin in transportation, we were able to bring our eagle down to the Village and improvise a little (LARGE!) booth addition.
We had a couple of special guests follow us down: two astronauts!! Left to right, meet Captain Sunita "Suni" Williams and Colonel Douglas Wheelock. What an honor it was to visit with these two incredible pilots!
Capt Williams and Col Wheelock were kind enough to autograph photos for elder son of one of our docents in the booth, a young man dreaming of flight. Capt Williams is a graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and at one point also held the record for the most EVA hours (Extra Vehicular Activity, a.k.a., space walk) logged by a woman in space. Col Doug Wheelock, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, is a veteran of missions aboard the shuttle Discovery and the Soyuz spacecraft. He has extensive experience in joint NASA/Russian Spacecraft Agency missions:
Read more about these impressive astronauts here:
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We were so happy that Steve Prawdzik, Ace photographer for the Talon Crew, and his buddy stopped by to meet our new eagle. Steve has shot incredible photos of the athletes over the years, as well as some of our favorite photos of Blondie which many of you have seen. It's about time that he got to sit and smile for the camera! |
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We were an almost-all female crew this year, with veterans and a newcomer to the big party that is Birds of Prey. L to R: docents Beverly Rice, Ann Stanz, Anne Price and docent Jenni McAllister. |
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We cannot thank the McAllister family enough! Pictured with Anne above is Brian McAllister, Jenni's husband, drafted docent/photographer/videographer and captain with Delta Air lines. Nearly all the images and video you'll see in this newsletter were shot by Brian, whose energy and enthusiasm rivals Anne's. THANK YOU Brian!!
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SkiRacing magazine interviewed Anne in the VIP area...click on the image directly above for an excellent story on the
transition from Blondie to our bald for this huge event.
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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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"In Pittsburgh, Memphis and Los Angeles, massive billboards recently popped up declaring, “Birds Aren’t Real.”
On Instagram and TikTok, Birds Aren’t Real accounts have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers, and YouTube videos about it have gone viral."
Would someone please explain this to me? Explanation will need to be accompanied with lots of fine adult beverages.
~Peter Reshetniak, 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 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!
Previous Thanksgiving Issue,
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.
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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 48 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 & Volunteers: 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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