Injured falcons, hawks and owls get help with new LA County ‘raptor rescue’

Inside the large training cage at the new Los Angeles County Raptor Rescue Center in San Dimas, birds of prey such as owls, hawks and falcons with broken wings and twisted legs that have been repaired are learning to fly again and feed themselves without human assistance.

On Thursday, July 18, several great-horned owls that had been shot, hit by cars or injured from crashing into building windows were nearly nature-ready — enough to be released back into the wild.

The center’s goal is to take in more than 200 injured raptors a year. A raptor is an inclusive name for birds that hunts and eats rodents such as mice and rats using sharp talons and beaks. Trained technicians will fix them up and hopefully return them to their homes — the rural foothills of L.A. County and the nearby Angeles National Forest.

“When we see them out in the wild again, it brings us joy. It is very rewarding,” said Noemi Navar, a park superintendent for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation who heads up the department’s new Raptor Recue located within the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center.

“We want to make sure they get placed back where they belong,” she said.

The county took over the birds of prey rescue center after the nonprofit, Wild Wings, that operated there since 1987 folded, the county reported. Supervisor Kathryn Barger put in $200,000, enough for the county to run the program for a year, said Norma E. García-González, director of L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation.

“We are starting to see many of the smaller nonprofits close their doors and that has left a significant void in rescuing and rehabilitating these animals,” she said.

L.A. County has trained its staff, as well as four volunteers from Wild Wings. The county obtained permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. They are also partnering with L.A. County Animal Care and Control.

Veterinarians from CDFW determine if a bird is releasable. If not, the bird is kept and cared for as a program “ambassador” and is shown during nature talks and education programs.

On Saturday, July 20, the raptor rescue will release a hawk into the wild and proceed with a soft launch of the program. A new website and new contact information are being drawn up, she said, and until then people who find an injured raptor should call county animal control. García-González hopes to attract more volunteers and raise funds, with a goal of treating 250 injured raptors, also known as birds of prey, every year.

With climate change, trees that support nests for red-tailed hawks, kestrels, barn owls and other birds of prey are disappearing from neighborhoods and the forest. And more birds are getting injured from vehicle strikes. The overarching goal of the center is to restore some balance to the ecosystem.

“Birds of prey feed on mice, so they are very important to our ecosystem, yet we are seeing fewer of these raptors in our skies. We want to make sure we are bringing them back and helping support biodiversity,” said García-González.

In only a few weeks of operation, the center has 70 raptors on site and has released 30 into the wild, she said. “As soon as they demonstrate they can fly and feed themselves, we release them,” said García-González.

But that can be easier said than done.

Often, people care too much and love them to death. When a bird of prey attaches itself to a human, it’s called imprinting. That erases its in-bred instincts to hunt, eat, and look for a mate, making it unfit for the wild ever again.

Navar brought out an American kestrel, a small falcon the size of a mourning dove, that is part of the group of 200 county birds that are kept in enclosures and used for educational programs. The female raptor on her arm has been imprinted and no longer fears a human, say, with a gun, in a car, or spreading rodenticide. She been in captivity four years.

The trained naturalists take great pains not to imprint on the rescued birds.

For starters, none of the birds are given names. They are identified by the color of the bands on their feet, Navar said.

“They are not pets. They are wildlife,” she repeated. “We want them to stay wild. So, in anything we do with rehabilitation, we try not to be too involved and we stay at a distance.”

When entering the training enclosure where birds are close to being released, the naturalist walks quietly and does not speak. They rub their shoes on a mat containing bleach, so that no germs or bacteria are introduced. They wear a camouflage suit that resembles the natural environment.

After placing food and water, they sneak out. “We let them be. We watch from a distance to determine when they are ready to go,” Navar explained.

When a worker brought out a peregrine falcon from its cage, it screeched. The bird is famous for living on tops of skyscrapers in New York City and diving at speeds up to 240 mph to catch a live bird for food in mid-air. Sadly, this one with a broken wing could not be fixed and cannot be released back to Fresno, where she came from, Navar said.

A white-faced barn owl ambassador also will remain in captivity at the center due to non-repairable wing damage.

“If we can fix them, we do, sometimes by putting a splint on. Then, hopefully they can be released back into the wild and help them stay wild,” Navar explained, saying those who are not fixable remain.

She knew the characteristics of the caged “ambassadors,” and was admiring the peregrine falcon held by worker Hector Olivas. It’s not often the public gets such a close look at this fast-moving predator bird.

“Isn’t she beautiful,” Navar began. “See the yellow on the beak and yellow on the feet? She’s modeling. Look at her. I love that.”