Message from the President
"Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York"
~Richard III, William Shakespeare
Yes, we're opening with a bit of Shakespeare this month. For a long time, despite an Honors English class many, MANY years, ago, I had thought Richard's soliloquy was a lament on the trials of the dynastic fight between the houses of York and Lancaster for the English crown. But, here, as he often did, Mr. Shakespeare has layered the sentence with a pun, and demands the reader go through the entire 42 lines to discern the true meaning of the Duke's speech. In truth, he is actually celebrating the end of hardship, and the triumph of his brother, King Edward.
My point? Nothing worth having comes easy. Sometimes a problem needs to be solved again and again, but perseverance, and the assistance of stalwart supporters, will lead to the "glorious summer". After a painfully dry and hot fall, it started snowing in Denver on December 31st, and it's snowed EVERY week (sometimes twice per week!) since. Our docents have turned snow removal and gravel rearranging into an art form this winter; now our river basins in Colorado are almost full, and we're at 95% of our median snow pack. And, after two-year hiatus, we're ready to hold our Spring Open House once again, and greet our friends and members in person, once again....more on that below.
Our optimism for the coming months, however, is being cruelly tested by Putin's invasion of Ukraine. My predecessor Peter Reshetniak, the founder of REF, is a son of Ukraine, the child of World War II refugees who were forced by Stalin and Hitler to flee their native soil and rebuild their lives twice, on two different continents. Those of you who are long-term members know the great fondness we have for that part of the world...we have friends and colleagues in both countries and there are no words in any language to describe our anguish right now.
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This hat was given to me when I attended the 2014 International Festival of Falconry in Abu Dhabi by a young falconer living just outside of Kyiv. It features the national symbol of Ukraine, the tryzub, interpreted as a stooping falcon. This beautiful gesture of friendship means more to me than ever right now.
You are in our hearts, Serhii, Alexander, Zhenya and Roman.
~Anne Price, President
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Announcing our Spring Open House on Saturday, May 14!
We are thrilled to announce the return of our Spring Open House! Please join us at our Brighton facility on Saturday, May 14 from 10:30AM to 1:00PM. Our mews (raptor housing) will be open to visitors and we'll have raptors on the front porch area for close-up photos, as well as door prizes and light morning refreshments.
Please RSVP here for more information, and mark your calendars now!
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Wildcat Mountain Golden Eagles Update |
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The golden eagle pair at Wildcat Mountain is making "all the right moves", and hopefully getting close to laying their first egg. The big question is: which nest are they going to use?
Peter has yet to confirm fresh evergreen boughs (a sign that the nest will be used that season) being brought to either the "new/old" nest on the north side of the cliff, nor the west nest which successfully fledged two eaglets in 2017, 2018 and 2019, but was not used last year. If you watch the female, you can see that she's carefully observing her mate cruising around the sky, and calling to him frequently. This is a long-term pair who live in the area year-round, hunting the Highlands Ranch Backcountry and the surrounding Douglas County Open Space.
We hope you enjoy the music; the name of the piece is Aquila which is Latin for "eagle", and the genus name of the golden eagle!
For information on trail closures, including maps and lots of background on this nest, just click.
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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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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!
Previous 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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Update: Commerce City & Barr Lake State Park Nest Sites |
Peter's last visit to both the Commerce City nest above and the Barr Lake/West nest below on February 28 still showed no incubating activity. Last year the Commerce City nest was showing incubation on February 24. The nest at Barr Lake showed no activity. The Commerce City nest may be suffering from the construction activity which has invaded the area, as reported in the previous issue. Peter has had feedback from the USFWS, however the odds of anything delaying the construction schedule for this nest are very slim, especially since this pair has had repeated failures in prior years. The nest at the Barr Lake site is also quite close to the railroad tracks (seen in the foreground) and the constant trains rolling by each day might be too much for this nest to be successful. Stay tuned! |
Enraptured with Raptors at Five |
Willie and his family came to visit us recently, all the way from Atlanta. They scheduled a tour at our facility before heading to Colorado's high country for a ski vacation. According to his family, Willie is "crazy" about raptors and reads about them all the time. It turns out that the ONE raptor he really wanted to see, was a prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus). This species is often over-shadowed by its much more famous cousin, the peregrine falcon, which is found world-wide. The prairie falcon is native only to western North America and hunts everything from horned larks to jack rabbits. When asked which raptor he'd like a photo with, Willie picked our nine year-old male prairie falcon, even though Mom and Dad were rooting for our female bald eagle!
Thanks to Willie and his family for a very entertaining visit!
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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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Star K Ranch Eagles Incubating |
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Thanks to longtime REF member Laura Chapman, Peter was alerted to amorous activities of a bald eagle pair at the Star K Ranch. He was able to visit on February 16 and despite a serious blizzard he was able to record an eagle on the nest incubating. Look carefully through the wind-driven snow to see her holding fast.
Peter returned on subsequent days to capture more activities confirming that the pair have established an active nest. Assuming that there was at least one egg on Feb 16th and adding 35 days, we project that March 23 or 24 will be the hatching date of the first egg. The interesting thing about this nest is that on the west and north sides of the natural area and probably no more than 100 yards away, are several large industrial operations. Both sites are very active with large trucks, a cement factory and a substantial landscaping operation making quite a bit of noise in the area.
The Morrison Nature Center is on the east side of the nest, and the Star K Ranch is also protected as a natural area, which gives the eagles a somewhat "natural" buffer on that side. However, in ten days of observations, Peter has seen the eagles approaching from all directions to return to the nest. Once the eaglets are hatched and the amount of hunting increases, it will be interesting to see which directions the eagles fly towards and return from, and what type of prey is brought to the nest. This location seems to demonstrates that bald eagles can tolerate all types of human intrusions into their nesting territory.
This video is the first in a series dedicated to Dr. Sharon Minzer, who passed away last year and left a legacy for REF to continue our work. Sharon loved to photograph our birds so part of her legacy will support the expenses involved in bringing these videos to our members and followers. If you wish to find out more about Dr. Minzer, please go to the page we have dedicated to Sharon on our web site.
Some of our videos in Sharon's memory will appear nowhere else but her dedicated page. Please visit often!
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Join the 50 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, 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
Docent In Training: Kristy Bortz
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