Local bird of prey group says support a raptor to honor your sweetheart.
SAN ANTONIO — You could call it a way for love to take flight.
For Valentine’s Day, or any occasion, a local group that helps injured birds of prey return to the wild has a heartwarming way for people to be involved in the process of restoring freedom.
For more than three decades, Last Chance Forever, the Bird of Prey Conservancy has been returning sick, injured or orphaned hawks, owls, falcons, eagles and vultures to nature.
The nonprofit, mostly a volunteer organization, receives no government funding to help with their important work.
One heartwarming fundraising idea they’re trying is a way for individuals to help sponsor the care of individual birds.
“People who want to help birds are like us. They love birds. They think they’re beautiful. They think they are worth supporting and helping to get back out there,” said Kelly Rayner, who works for the group.
Rayner said at a time when bird flu is sweeping through Texas, the role of raptors is crucial.
“They have important roles in our ecosystem. They are indicator species. They indicate when something is going wrong, like this avian flu that’s going on right now,” Rayner said.
John Karger, who leads the group, said “It’s a true gift of love to give the love of your life wings to fly.”
Karger said helping support an individual bird is a great activity for couples, or small groups like kids and grandparents.
Karger added that for a donation of $125, they will work to create a lifelong memory for their benefactors by sharing the release of a raptor to the wild.
It’s a delicate dance, they said, to make sure they can arrange schedules so that people and birds are available at the same time and place when the birds are ready to fly, but they know from experience it is worth the logistical balancing.
The fundraiser helps recover the costs for rehabilitation.
“We do an initial exam on them to find out what their injury may or may not be. They might need to get X-rays. Sometimes they need surgery,” Rayner said, adding, “Every bird also needs a two-week quarantine stay to make sure they have a thorough diagnosis.”
Rayner said once the initial treatment is underway, the birds go back outside to secure, quiet chambers where they can continue their recovery in a calm environment, with very little human intervention.
Every recovery chamber features a small slot where food can be dropped in without disturbing the feathered patient. As the bird grows stronger, Rayner said they provide physical or hydrotherapy as needed and then move the birds to larger chambers to start working on their flight skills.
“In the flight chamber they’ll build up muscle, stamina, and get ready for going out again and before they are released they need to make 3 live kills,” Rayner said, explaining that they have to be prove they can hunt independently.
“We need to know that they’re gonna be able to catch food for themselves because no one’s gonna come around in the wild with a tray of food, so they need to be able to find the find the prey and catch the prey, and nobody leaves here until they are successful,” Rayner said.
The moment of release, Rayner said, is often very magical.
“It is definitely food for the heart when you go on a release,” Rayner said, adding that on a recent release on a tour boat on Lake Buchanan, most of the guests were a bit overwhelmed.
“I had a guy just last month on the boat tell me that he has been waiting to do something like this his whole life and he was probably in his 40s,” Rayner said, adding “He had seen or read about something like this and it just happened to be his time so he was ecstatic! Rayner said.
Rayner said most people are surprised by how lightweight and strong the birds are.
“They don’t weigh very much and there are people that shed tears because they’re so happy and so emotionally moved by the moment because it’s just amazing,” Rayner said.
Support for the project is helpful all year long, Rayner said.
“We get birds in all the time, all year long, birds that need help, birds that need medication, birds that need surgery, birds that need aftercare, and they all need to eat every day!” Rayner said, adding that high quality, appropriate nutrition is one of their biggest ongoing expenses.
“We buy from a restaurant supplier, we buy meat because that’s what they eat,” Rayner said, adding “We want to make sure that they get a diet that they would get out in the wild.”
They also really on direct donations of supplies like newspapers for lining cages and cleaning supplies to keep all their surfaces sanitary, especially in light of the avian flu threat.
“These birds need our help. Nobody helps them because they’re wild animals. You can’t hug them. You can’t kiss them. You can’t own them as a pet. So it’s just very important that people help in any way they can,” Rayner said.
For anyone who wants to see eagles in the wild, Vanishing Texas River Cruises on Lake Buchanan near Burnet, Texas also offers tour boat rides that give patrons up close view of eagles during the winter season when the migratory birds are in Texas.