Former TRC Peregrine Patient

The Raptor Center admits approximately 700 sick and injured birds into our clinic each year. We are able to rehabilitate and release many of them, despite the incredible range of injuries they sustain. This second chance at life provides those individual birds an opportunity to resume their role in the ecosystem.


We recently had an illustration of how our work directly contributes and impacts breeding populations of raptors. The folks at the Weston Power Plant in Rothschild, WI photographed their new female peregrine (see photo). These colored leg bands – one a purple USFWS and the other a project band - identified this bird as a female that was found injured in Ohio, in early 2009. Our own executive director Dr. Julia Ponder performed surgery on her wing (metacarpal fracture). Dr. Ponder was visiting Dr. Susan Orosz, a board-certified avian veterinarian in Ohio, when the bird was admitted. Clinic manager Lori Arent “imped” new feathers on her wing and tail just before she was ready to be released. Imping is a process where a new feather can be placed into an old, broken feather shaft, because it is hollow. This allows for the bird to have the needed balance and flight ability until a new feather is moulted in.

She was released in spring 2009 in Osceola, WI. This year, she is the breeding female (eggs are confirmed) at the Weston Power Plant. For more information on the Midwest Peregrine project, including a public database to look up individual site and bird information, can be found at http://www.midwestperegrine.org/.