Volunteers

    As with any organization B.C.R.R. relies  on  dedicated  volunteers for many of its daily routines. Such tasks could include sorting and preparing food for the next meal ,  feeding the various raptors in care, cleaning their cages, assisting in bandaging ,handling and  medical procedures, responding to calls involving injured or orphaned raptors, capturing, transporting, and releasing raptors that have recovered. .

    
Cleaning mice bins                     Feeding Birds                      Preparing Food

Cleaning, feeding and managing the mice colonies are also required on a daily basis. Mice provide  a natural diet, recognizable by most raptors. This familiar and complete food source contains all the necessary  ingredients for healthy recoveries. Although most of the mice fed are obtained fresh frozen from local laboratory sources, B.C.R.R. breeds  a small amount for special situations.

 Perhaps your teenager would like to earn his/her community service hours required by the educational system now in grades nine through  twelve. Forty hours of service is necessary over the four years of high school .Valuable experience will be gained through our program of volunteering , it’s also an opportunity for  a first hand look at a Raptor rehabilitation facility with some hands on .Students must have a keen interest in wildlife, be willing to do a variety of jobs, ( cleaning being # 1)  be reliable and   motivated.

Volunteers participate in special tours of the facility including speaking to the public about the Centres activities and handling the educational birds

Volunteer Drivers are always needed for assisting in the transport of  injured Raptors from various locations to the Centre .  Presently  drivers are needed for the Counties of  Bruce Lambton,  , Huron, Middlesex , and Kent . Drivers are asked to keep a driving log and are then given a tax receipt for their donation in km’s of driving.

   Raffle

Do you have any fundraising ideas? Volunteers help raise money to care for the Birds of Prey at the Raptor Centre. All money raised goes directly to care for the birds ,there are no administrative costs and all  donations are tax deductible .

A fundraising  project that has been recently proposed is the building of  nest boxes for cavity nesting raptors .The two local species that would benefit from these are the Screech Owl and the American Kestrel. If you ,or someone you know, would like to donate the materials and labour to build these boxes , they could be sold as an effort to encourage people to provide the necessary  housing needed  for these birds, proceeds will in turn benefit the raptors at B.C.R.R.

 The demand for cavity nesting sites is becoming seriously  competitive. With increased logging occurring in forested areas as well as urban development destroying many existing wood lots  there is a real shortage of  nesting sites available.  If you have to cut that old  hollow tree down in your yard  that has perhaps provided  nesting sites for many birds and mammals  over the years, why not please replace it with a man made  nest box ?   You could be helping your local wildlife.  Click on nest boxes for designs.

These four baby nestling Kestrels lost their home when their tree was cut down BCRR foster mom now raises them until they are ready for release.