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Injured Raptors Nursed To Health In Ft. Collins

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Jul 9, 2009 2:41 pm US/Mountain

Injured Raptors Nursed To Health In Ft. Collins

Reporting
Mike Hooker
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) ― A program that nurses injured raptors back to health has been very busy this year. Wednesday some of those injured birds were sent back into the wild.

The Swainson's hawks are being nursed back to health at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, where the executive director says there's been a flood of feathered clients this year.

"We've been swamped," says Judy Scherpelz. "There've been so many birds our caseload was at one point almost double over what it was last year."

The raptors here are rehabilitated after being found injured or separated too young from their parents.

"We've had a lot of violent weather this year," says Scherpelz. "We had all that rainy weather. We had lot of major storms, major wind, tornados you know. It's been a crazy weather year and I think that's been a big part of it."

Scherpelz takes us into the flying cage where there are two American Kestrals ready for release.
Over in intensive care there's a Coopers hawk and baby barn owls that look and sound really creepy - ghostly.

"Not only are there injured birds, but also lots of babies," says Scherpelz.

The medical director prepares those two kestrels for release.

"We're putting a band on them so we can identify them if she's found again and then they'll be released back out to the wild," explain Gail Kratz.

The Rocky Mountain Raptor Program was a temporary home. The two kestrels are now in Windsor.

"This is what it's all about," says Scherpelz. "All the hours of work that we do, this is the culmination of it. How thrilling it must be for them to fly, to taste the air on their wings, to feel that moment of 'I'm free. I can fly. I'm back where I should be."

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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