“Scruffy,” a barn owl, was first introduced to the center nine months ago after being rescued in Berkeley. Photo by Ryan Lely
The Raptor Conservancy, a program of the Kenwood Wildlife Center, is committed to the protection of indigenous raptor populations through education, conservancy and rehabilitation. Working with other North Bay wildlife centers, the group specializes in the care of eagles, falcons, hawks, kites, ospreys, owls and vultures. Injured birds are kept in enclosures in the center’s main building until they are ready for aviaries.
The Wildlife Center, which is tucked away in the hills above Kenwood, is also expanding its educational and community outreach programs by creating presentations and programs. These will strive to inform the public about the natural history of their wild neighbors and how to incorporate good wildlife stewardship practices into their everyday life.
There is a focus on the education of young people through a schools program that will incorporate standards-based content with natural history and hands-on exploration of nature. Another program will offer opportunities for youth organizations to participate in projects that will allow them to learn new skills, to develop a sense of accomplishment and to establish a new fundraising source for their groups.
“Today our organization is on the precipice of some very exciting endeavors,” said Linda Knight, director of animal care. “We have a renewed energy in the form of devoted and thoughtful board members, and we see great potential as to where we can take the organization in order to best serve our community.”
The Wildlife Center for Disease and Toxin Investigation, which the center was originally named, is a non-profit group that was started by Nancy Summers and Peter Gruchawka 18 years ago. The group then focused on identifying environmental elements that were causing injuries and diseases sustained by the animals that were coming into rescue centers.
Changes in both the environment and the economy were destined to bring about changes at the Wildlife Center. Instances of interaction between humans and wildlife have increased every year, as the human population continues to impinge more and more on territories used by birds and animals. Rather than compete with other Bay Area groups for donations while replicating rescue efforts, the organization’s board decided to focus on the care and protection of raptors.
“I joined The Wildlife Center to bring my experience working with injured native species to an organization whose work I’ve respected for many years,” said Howard Rosner, a veterinarian, who has been a board member since January. “I am hopeful that residents of the Sonoma Valley will encourage and support the center’s renewed efforts to care for and protect this region’s treasured wildlife.”
The plight of barn owls is of major concern to The Raptor Conservancy Project. The owls, a natural source of rodent control, had been thriving in the Sonoma Valley in significant numbers. However, the number of appropriate nesting sites has diminished, largely because so many old trees (in which the birds make homes in cavities) have been removed. Officials at the center say only a small percentage of barn owls have been able to find suitable alternatives. One solution has been to install barn owl boxes to replace lost nesting sites or create new ones so that more owls can raise clutches. Ideally, this process will increase the owl population and, ultimately, decrease the rodent population to the point where a balance between predator and prey is established.
Habitat for Hooters is a barn owl nest program created and run by Janet Barth for the vineyards and general public of Napa County. Janet has recently joined the new board at the Kenwood Center hoping to either expand the Habitat for Hooters program to include Sonoma County or to help the Raptor Conservancy Project to start a barn owl nest box program of their own. During the past seven years, Habitat for Hooters has distributed more than 500 barn owl nest boxes. The group has given hundreds of presentations to a variety of organizations on the use of barn owls for sustainable rodent control and the natural history of owls.
“The agricultural industry spends a great deal of time and money trying to mitigate the destruction caused by rodents to crops and often times they will resort to rodentcides, which actually can make the problem worse as rodentcides can end up poisoning the predators that help keep rodent populations in check,” said Barth “One pair of barn owls raising an average number clutch of between four and six chicks will catch between 500 and 1,000 rodents during the nesting season.”
Learn more about The Raptor Conservancy by visiting its Web site www.wildlife-center.org.
Here are important actions you can take to protect raptors:
• Educate yourself about the wildlife that shares your living or workspace.
• Use native plants that will serve as both cover and a food source for wildlife.
• Prune or cut down bushes and trees only in November.
• Never use rodenticides, because they may cause a slow and painful death to animals higher on the food chain. Instead use snap-traps or zappers.
• Put up nest boxes for the cavity-dwellers native to your area.
