Raptors Receive Second Chance at Wild Skies

POTOMAC - Wild Skies Raptor Center is a non-profit rehabilitation facility in Potomac specializing in raptors and native birds. The mission is to provide care, rehabilitation and eventual release of injured wild birds.

Presently there are 18 raptors on site. Brooke Tanner and Jesse Varnado work together to rehabilitate the injured birds.

Tanner has been involved in rehabilitating birds for the last 10 years. She worked at the Grounded Eagle Bird rehabilitation facility in Condon. She currently works as a veterinary technician in Missoula. Varnado is a wildlife photographer, an assistant at Wild Skies and an advanced bird handler.

Tanner has always wanted a rehabilitation center for raptors. She started the center two years ago this April on the property in Potomac that is more than 10 acres. Using reclaimed wood and making the enclosures as eco-friendly as possible, Wild Skies has treatment rooms, enclosures and flights for the birds. The flights are L-shaped enclosures where they practice flying, turning and strengthening their muscles.

"As soon as a bird comes in for rehab, we have to decide if the injuries are fixable and consider if the bird will be releasable," said Tanner. "If the bird has a chance of being released, [we] will attempt to rehabilitate it." 

Due to the severity of some injuries, some birds are euthanized. "If we know from day one they are most likely not releasable then we have to either euthanize them or rehab them. Then [we] try to place them somewhere they can be utilized for education programs," said Tanner. 

At Wild Skies there are four birds being used for educational programs. The education birds are Vesper, a female Red-tailed Hawk; Frith, a male Great Horned Owl; Saffron, a female Long-eared Owl and an unnamed Western Screech Owl.

They were once injured in their wings. They could not survive in the wild because they could not fly well. Since owls have a nocturnal silent flight pattern, if one is injured and cannot fly silently again they are used for education purposes and not released.

Some education programs hosted by Wild Skies include school and outdoor events, conservation and natural history programs. Birds are considered for education at Wild Skies depending on their disposition and type of injury since they are handled frequently and may have an audience.

The treatment rooms are indoors. This is where the injured birds receive medical attention. There is limited activity for those birds because of their injuries and to reduce their stress. To limit stress on the birds the species are also kept separate, calm and quiet. Stressed birds will not eat or heal well.

"These are wild birds that have lived out under the big sky their entire lives and being confined in a small space alone is stressful," Tanner said. "Gaining their trust is sometimes difficult and can take a lot of time and patience just to get them to eat in captivity. Raptors are the antithesis of confinement."

Inside the rooms, there is a Bald Eagle with a broken leg as well as a Red-tailed Hawk who is underweight and not eating well. Tanner said it is serious when a raptor does not want to eat.

In that case, they give the bird fluids and try to pique its appetite with soft foods like mouse liver. They put some of the birds' medicine inside their food.

From the treatment house, birds go to the rehabilitation enclosures and the flights.

Varnado said, "In the flights, the birds can exercise once they get past their physical maladies."

In one of the flights there is a juvenile Barn Owl and an adult Barn Owl. The hope is that the juvenile is learning to hunt and fly from the adult because the juvenile was taken away from its family before it learned to hunt. Tanner has a trail camera set up so she can watch the interaction between the owls. "We have put the two together so the young owl can 'watch and learn,' " said Tanner.

Creancing is also used to condition the birds. This is when raptors are exercised tethered to a long line outdoors. "They can practice flying this way and it is good for their wing muscles," Tanner said.

The birds need to be at peak performance health wise and be able to hunt and fly on their own before they can be released.

Before releasing, the birds must be banded with USGS (United States Geologic Survey) bands. Their talons are also sharpened before they are released because they dull during rehabilitation. Tanner and Varnado released a Goshawk Jan. 16 and have a Pygmy Owl ready to be released.

The birds undergoing rehabilitation are not allowed to have contact with the public. This is so they can continue to heal without unnecessary stress.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has set rules and regulations in place for these birds including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.  Once USFWS provide permits, then Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks permits must be obtained as well in order to possess or even transport these protected species said Tanner.

Tanner is on call 24/7 to assist with any injured bird. In the past she has had songbirds as well as raptors at Wild Skies.

Varnado said they try to focus on rehabbing native bird species. "We will try and help any kind, though," he said.

Ultimate goals for Wild Skies include a large flight outdoors for eagles, a nature trail with an amphitheater for an education center and to build and operate a wildlife hospital.

Tanner is very grateful for having raptors in her life. She said, "After working with raptors for 10 years, I could still just watch them all day. Their sheer beauty, power, skills, and resiliency are just a few attributes that fuel my passion."

For more information contact Wild Skies Raptor Center at 406-244-5422, 406-210-3468, email Montanawildskies@gmail.com or visit their website at http://www.wildskies.org