Directors of two wildlife rescue centers are working together to bring a flight pen to the North Olympic Peninsula to help rehabilitate eagles and other large birds.
Jaye Moore, director of the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center in Sequim, and Cynthia Daily, director of Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue in Port Townsend, have combined forces to move the pen from Yakima to Port Townsend.
Flight pens are large enclosures used to rebuild and strengthen injured or young birds’ abilities to fly before release back into the wild.
“It’s like physical therapy for birds,” Moore said. “It can take a couple of months.”
After regulations changed, the flight pen Moore had — the only one on the Peninsula — no longer met the size required under the permits administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“We started having to transport any eagles and bigger birds needing lots of flight time off the Peninsula,” Moore said.
Relocating eagles to other rescues often results in eagles native to the Olympic Peninsula being released in unknown territory, Moore said.
“We always try to put them back to where they came from because it’s familiar to them and it’s just so important we do everything we can to support our native wildlife,” she said.
Large raptors such as eagles provide a variety of ecological functions, Daily said.
“They’re a top predator, so eagles help keep the ecosystem healthy and in check,” she said. “They’re also scavengers.”
The owner of a Yakima raptor center that is closing is donating a 100-foot-long flight pen that is 16 feet tall and 36 feet across.
It will allow Moore and Daily the opportunity to once again release eagles and other large birds locally.
“This is huge for us,” Moore said. “It will make all the difference in the world to us.”
She said the two hope to get it moved and running by spring.
“That’s when we get really busy,” Moore said.
To disassemble, transport via a semi-trailer, excavate an area and reassemble the flight pen at Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue is projected to cost $15,000.
100 Feet to Freedom
To help secure the flight pen, Merryn Welch, a volunteer at the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center, has spearheaded a benefit, 100 Feet to Freedom.
The benefit will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at Studio Bob, 118½ E. Front St., Port Angeles.
It will seek to illuminate the importance of the area’s eagles and other wild bird species through an evening of live music, art and education.
Admission will be by donation, which is suggested as $10 per person.
Between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., Moore and Daily will host a raptor show with birds from both rescues and provide a presentation on the flight pen and its importance.
Following the show and presentation, bands ranging in styles from “classic and acoustic to gypsy, pirate punk” will resonate through the studio, Welch said. The lineup includes PufnStuff, The Crocs, Bread & Gravy and Rogues’ End.
While music plays and the dancing begins, local artists Regie Saxerud, Ruth Kaspin, Elaine Bawden, Shallon Bawden and Craig Dills will work throughout the evening, creating art for the silent auction.
Since volunteering at the center, Welch has witnessed the release of native birds and describes the experience as profound.
“It’s critical that we’re able to release these birds back into areas they’re familiar with,” she said.
Longtime collaborators
Working to acquire a shared flight pen is one of many examples of the longtime collaboration between Daily and Moore.
“We’ve worked together for years,” Daily said.
Considering the average demand from both rescues, Daily estimates between 20 and 25 local birds will benefit from the flight pen.
Aside from eagles, the flight pen will assist in the rehabilitation of species such as peregrine falcons, pelicans, osprey, hawks and great-horned owls, she said.
For more information on the eagle enclosure and/or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/pncvup7w, the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center at www.nwraptorcenter.com or 360-681-2283, or Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue at www.discoverybaywildbirdrescue.com or 360-379-0802.
Donations also are accepted at Pet Town, 2427 W. Sims Way in Port Townsend, or Wild Birds Unlimited, 275953 U.S. Highway 101 in Gardiner.
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Alana Linderoth is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach her at 360-683-3311, ext. 55249, or alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.
