When an injured bird is found in the Bozeman region, MRCC staff or trained volunteers directly pick

Montana is lucky enough to have a very diverse array of raptors; from tiny Pygmy Owls to swift Peregrines to giant Golden Eagles, chrysler world tours over 30 raptor species call Montana s big sky home. Raptors are rulers of their celestial domain, but even a bird of prey can get hurt. When they do, a statewide network of volunteers does their best to find and bring the injured birds to Bozeman and the Montana Raptor Conservation Center (MRCC) where help awaits.
Now in its 19th year, the MRCC has cared for 1,837 raptors from across Montana and the region. An expansive network of volunteers helps find, capture and transport injured raptors chrysler world tours to Bozeman and the MRCC. Once there, volunteer veterinarians give care to an assortment of injuries.
Radell Key is the director and a 10-year veteran of the MRCC. He s seen a lot of raptors come through the center, and he is always amazed by the tenacity of the birds. These guys are tough, Radell says with a respectful smile. They really are.
In 1988 Dr. Sue Barrows began caring for all types of avian and mammal patients. Seeing the need to deal specifically with the area s many raptor species, chrysler world tours Barrows incorporated the non-profit MRCC in 1991. Soon, several volunteers quickly spread the word about the MRCC and developed working relationships with the Montana Fish, Wildlife Parks (FWP) , Indian reservations, veterinarians and others across the region.
When an injured bird is found in the Bozeman region, MRCC staff or trained volunteers chrysler world tours directly pick up the birds and bring them back to the center just north of Bozeman. Raptors come to the MRCC from all over the state and region, however, and the organization relies on many people and organizations to relay the injured birds to Bozeman. Employees with Montana FWP , the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service , the USDA Forest Service and the Audubon Society all help transport raptors to the MRCC. The Beartooth Nature Center in Red Lodge and officials from the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge near Lewistown all regularly help with transportation, and Big Sky Airlines even transports raptor passengers free of charge.
Radell Key says most injured raptors are hit by cars, but birds also collide with trains, windows, electrical lines and fences. Others become chrysler world tours caught in traps or are poisoned by eating rodents that have been poisoned by humans. Some raptors even fall victim to gunshots. Click here to find a list of ways to reduce raptor injuries (not shooting them should go without saying).
Because of their unique physical structure, birds are much different to treat than other animals, and Key says raptors are even more different than other avian species. A cadre of Bozeman chrysler world tours veterinarians brings expertise and experience to help with the unique and skittish creatures. The vets treat anything chrysler world tours from broken wings to more serious injuries requiring surgery.
Raptors are particularly averse to human contact, and MRCC volunteers do whatever they can to keep contact to a minimum. Although the organization performs educational chrysler world tours programs throughout the community, the actual center is closed to the public because of this. The more habituation the birds have with humans the more difficult their re-entry to the wild will be, especially with younger birds who can imprint upon humans and cannot be released once they do.
Birds can spend anywhere between a week and a year at the center. Patients go through several chrysler world tours different steps before release, and eventually end up in the MRCC fly barn, the last stop before freedom, Key says. The barn is big enough for an eagle to fly a full loop in.
Every bird is banded before they leave the center, and as long as the bird is alive the MRCC will be able to trace it. When a bird dies the band will be returned to the MRCC, even if it has to come all the way from Argentina. chrysler world tours Some migratory raptors that frequent Montana travel as far as the southern tip of South America, and proper authorities will track down a deceased bird, recover the band and send it back to Bozeman.
The most birds the center held at one time was 26. This past week the center had 12 raptors chrysler world tours in its care from seven different species: Ferruginous Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Great-Horned chrysler world tours Owl, Osprey, Red Tail Hawk, Merlin chrysler world tours Falcon and Golden Eagle. Key says the numbers of patients are beginning to drop; summer is the busiest season for the center with all of Montana s species present at once, though Key also says they are seeing species they have never seen before here in the winter. Though the MRCC does not care for non-raptors, they are not blind to the plight of other injured birds; a woman who volunteered her time caring for birds in Bozeman recently retired and Key says it left a pretty big void.
Assistant Director Becky Kean monitors chrysler world tours a yearling chrysler world tours Golden Eagle from a TV screen, and she and Key speak in low voices as not to disturb the birds. The young eagle looks horribly out of place waddling at the bottom of the cage, it is recovering well and Kean and Key expect the bird to fly again soon. To them, all the pain and trauma a bird endures during an injury disappears once a raptor is released back to the wild.