Raptor Center of Southeast Michigan

By Alysha Albrecht Oh, the stories I have been meaning to share with you all! This spring and summer have been extremely eventful and memorable. Let’s start with a bird we call Dudley. A beautiful young red-tailed hawk came to us in early November 2021. Like many of our birds, he was found by the…

Although we haven’t seen much snow in southeast Michigan (except for the early February snow storm) this was still a harsh winter in the wild. The constant cold temperatures meant raptors need to hunt more, so they can eat more and produce heat. We’ve seen the impact of winter with most of the birds who’ve…

By Dave Spratt If you’re a rubber-necking nature geek like me, winter is a great time to spot hawks. On any given drive down a southern Michigan freeway, you can typically see at least one red-tailed hawk every several miles, perched in a tree watching the grass that lines the roadway for any subtle signs…

By Dody Wyman When I announced my retirement from raptor rehabilitation the first time, I donated half of my large raptor reconditioning enclosure to an organization in Dayton, Ohio and the other half to an organization in Coldwater, Michigan. For numerous reasons, the larger half that went to Coldwater was taken apart a couple of…

By Dody Wyman As most or all of you know, River Raisin Raptor Center was originally formed as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit way back in 1998. Fast forward to when I wanted to begin to retire, I gave Francie Krawcke and Sarah Gilmore the educational part of the organization. Making it her own, Francie…

Or Maybe an owl… By Dave Spratt It’s acting weird or it’s obviously hurt. You want to help, but well, it’s a fairly large critter and there on the ground it’s closer than you’ve ever been. Plus it has all those sharp parts. And above all, it seems so … angry. What to do? You…

By Dave Spratt I must admit I did not have “hawk wrangling” on my 2020 bingo card. But there we were: me in heavy gloves, a canvas shirt and goggles, with meat on a string in one hand and a large towel in the other; my wife Sarah standing ready with a large box and…

By Alysha Albrecht It has been an ever- expanding Summer. Our team has grown and a few have fledged our care. In mid-July Ontario, the non-releasable Red Tail Hawk we received in February, was transferred to Ogden Nature Center in Utah. The center offers many types of enrichment like allowing the birds to build nests…

Hello! The Spring has been full of renesting and reuniting of baby birds. We’ve helped over a dozen people reunite baby owls & hawks. We reunited a fledgling red-tailed hawk in early June and an eastern screech owl in late June. Thankfully this busy baby season has come to a close and we’re hoping to…