RESCUING RAPTORS
Nonprofit talks avian flu, upcoming 30th anniversary gala
For the last 35 years, the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program has worked hard to rehabilitate and help heal birds of prey in the area. That work continues, even in the face of new challenges with the current strain of avian flu.
The program has operated out of Fort Collins since 1987 with the mission of serving Northern Colorado through “lifesaving raptor rescue, rehabilitation and research and lifechanging conservation education,” according to the group’s website.
The group typically admits around 300 raptors for rehabilitation each year, working through nine staff members and around 100 volunteers to provide rehabilitation, education and research.
Carin Avila, executive director of the program, said it has grown over more than three decades and, despite facing challenges like many other organizations during the pandemic, has continued to learn and provide work for local birds.
“We are continuing to learn more with modalities of care for the birds and trying to improve the day to day care,” she said.
However, this work has taken on a new challenge in the last year as the country has been hit by a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and local bird populations are feeling the impacts of this virus as many birds in the area have been infected and died from it.
Despite this, the team has continued its work in treating raptors and teaching the community about them. Several RMRP employees spoke with the Reporter-herald about the impact this strand of avian flu has had on local bird populations and the overall importance of the program ahead of its 30th anniversary gala, scheduled for Feb. 25.
The avian flu and how it has impacted the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program
This strand of HPAI, known as H5N1, has been seen in wild birds since early 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To date, according to data provided by the CDC, nearly 6,200 wild birds and more than 58 million poultry birds have been detected with the virus.
According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture, 170 wild birds have been detected with this strand of avian flu in Colorado; data from the CDC adds that 41 wild birds have been located with H5N1 in Larimer County.
But that number could be much greater, according to
RMRP Rehabilitation Coordinator Mike Tincher, who said there are likely birds that have died of the virus that were not tested.
Avila said the first time the facility became frighteningly aware of the avian flu was back in 2015 during a previous outbreak. She said while they did not have any cases come through the facility, it changed the way they looked at their operations.
She said with both avian flu and then with COVID-19, the program had to shut its doors to the public, stopping its open houses to protect the people and the birds.
But, unlike in 2015, the program has seen a number of birds come through with the current strain of avian flu.
According to an information sheet from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, avian flu in birds can show with symptoms ranging from a lack of energy, appetite and coordination to the swelling or discoloration of various body parts to sudden death.
“The neurological symptoms that come along with this disease are pretty severe,” Avila said, adding that birds are often killed very quickly by the virus. “We are not being able to help those birds because the disease is ravaging them in many ways.”
Tincher, who described this strain of the flu as the raptors’ version of COVID-19, said they will often get calls from people who see birds that look like they simply fell out of a tree with no outside influence; this, he said, is what can happen when a bird is infected.
“With avian influenza it is rapid,” he said. “They are in excellent body condition, they don’t show any signs of trauma. They just become ill and die.”
Tincher said they often have no way to help the birds beyond euthanizing them to end any suffering.
Treating the birds that are believed to have the flu or definitely do has also taken up great focus for the team. Tincher said an old storage space on the west side of the team’s facility has been retrofitted as an isolation area.
Outside the door — which is locked shut when a bird is inside the space — sits a desk with paperwork and protective gear. Inside are tarped off isolation chambers for sick birds.
“Adaptability is survivability,” Tincher said of making the room. “If the birds can do it, so can we.”
However, despite the difficulty, he said the team has to be pragmatic about what they are doing to try and help the “next bird and the next one.”
“It is no different than a raptor coming in with a severely broken wing that is necrotic,” he said. “We can’t fix that. All we can do is humanely take away their suffering.”
“It is gut wrenching,” Avila said. “My rehabilitation team that is dealing with cases and seeing this on a day-to-day basis, it is a real morale buster.”
Despite the current outbreak and the virus’ impact on birds throughout the world and in the area, Tincher noted one case so far that has brought the team a level of cautious optimism.
In early January the team received a red-tailed hawk that came in with not as severe neurological issues and a vision deficit; they they decided to admit the hawk and see what they could do. While the bird did test positive,
Tincher said it was eating on its own and has since begun to improve, eventually testing negative twice for H5N1.
While the bird has a long way to go, he said it has been an important piece of understanding where they go from here.
“If we can learn from this, it will help us in the long run,” he said, later adding, “What we do know is given a certain set of parameters, if they are not neurological or blind, we may have a chance at treating (some) of these birds.”
How the community can help sick or injured birds
Avila and Tincher both agreed that, despite this strain impacting the United States for more than a year, there are still a lot of unknowns at what the greater impact will be in the wild and in bird populations.
Avila said for anyone wanting to help, whether it be with a bird they suspect is sick or one that is injured, it is best to call experts to come and handle the situation. She also stressed people should not try to capture the animals themselves.
She added it is also always important for people to be wary of how they dispose of their trash as well as staying informed on things like pollution, which can have an impact on birds.
Tincher said it is important for the program to teach people about some of the small things they may not think about that can help birds in the wild. One example he gave was avoiding the use of glue traps, sticky surface traps used inside to catch animals like mice, outside as birds can often get stuck in them, causing serious health problems.
Overall, he said that keeping people informed is paramount in helping birds.
“We have to work through this together,” he said. “We want people to go out there and still enjoy wildlife, but seek out the good information. Knowledge is power, knowledge is the tool to help us help each other get through this.”
Importance of the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program and its 30th gala
For the members of the raptor program, their work is deeply important to the local community, especially when it comes to the education arm of their organization.
“To be able to share what we do as our passion, what we do as something we are very dedicated to and to try and … infect other people with that passion so they can in turn become stewards of our environment, stewards of our wildlife and stewards of our planet (is important),” Avila said.
The program has more than 20 educational ambassador birds, ranging from owls to kestrels to a few eagles. These birds, which are permanently disabled and are used to educate since they can not safely be returned to the wild, are taken around the community to help teach people not only about them but how they can help other birds in simple ways.
Bonnie Cleaver, education avian coordinator, said going out and doing educational events for anyone from elementary school children to seniors is meant to inspire people to appreciate wildlife and think about how they can help in their own way.
“(That) can definitely have an impact on wildlife,” she said.
“My favorite part … is going out into the public and getting to share the stories of these birds and … have these things click in (people’s heads),” said Jazmine Fenner, education and outreach assistant. “That ‘oh, I can change these things to help these birds.’”
Avila also said holding the annual gala is a great way to let the community learn more about the agency as well as for local supporters to see where their donations are going. She said many of the program’s greatest financial supporters are people in the community who care about Colorado and its wildlife.
She said it also shows them that people care not only about the work they do, but the birds themselves.
“It refreshes our dedication to what we are doing,” she said.
More information on the program can be found at rmrp.org. The program will be holding its 30th Annual Gala and Benefit Auction Feb. 25 at the Fort Collins Hilton, 425 W. Prospect Road. More information, ticket purchases as well as the silent bidding, which opened Saturday, can be found at bit.ly/3xhyinp.
But with more work to do and plans going forward, the team at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program is continuing to work to help local birds and educate the community.
“We have the ability to engage and inform people at every age and professional level,” Tincher said. “That is what is huge, because information, knowledge, that is the key to all of this.”