Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Rescuing Raptors: Stories About Birds of Prey Rescues

The longer a bird of prey is on the ground, the less chance it has of surviving. Nancy McDonald discusses this and what you, the finder, can do.

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on social media, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

https://www.instagram.com/rescuingraptors/

https://post.news/@/rescuingraptors

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What should you do if you come across a baby bird of prey on the ground, out of the nest?

Listen to this episode to discover what you can to help baby raptors get renested safely.

About Nancy McDonald:

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on social media, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

https://www.instagram.com/rescuingraptors/

https://post.news/@/rescuingraptors

https://www.threads.net/@rescuingraptors

One of the most dramatic - and risk-laden rescues - are water rescues. Tune in now to hear how to plan ahead for a water rescue. This is what you'll learn:

• The gear you'll need to keep you safe
• Rescue technique
• Safety considerations
• Water conditions

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

People who want to be part of rehabbing raptors don't always want to do the rescues, but just as importantly, they can transport the sick, injured or orphaned bird of prey to the rehabber. In this episode, I go over the basic do's and don'ts of successfully transporting raptors.

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on ⁠Instagram⁠, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

Rescuing wildlife can be dangerous.

In this episode, I talk about the safety considerations that should be factored in before you hit the ground running to rescue a hawk, eagle or owl.

These safety considerations include:

• High crime areas
• Bad weather
• Water rescues
• Hostile terrain
• The birds themselves

You'll learn some of the things I do for myself to stay safe while rescuing birds of prey.

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

Usually when I renest a baby bird, it's a cause for celebration on a very small scale. However, my very first baby raptor renesting was a large party - in honor of the owl! It turned out well for everyone, but especially for the baby owl - give it a listen!

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

Did you know birds, including raptors, are federally protected here in the U.S.?

Did you also know that our two eagle species - the Bald and Golden - have additional protection?

If not, tune in to this episode and hear a brief description of these two federal acts. If you ever decide you'd like to work with birds of prey, it's a good idea to understand what these acts are about.

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally in the Capital Gazette, on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

Sadly, most of the injured raptors we rescue are hurt in ways that can be avoided. In this episode, I'm going to talk about the five most common ways I am called out to rescue injured birds of prey. They are:

• Car strikes
• window strikes
• lead poisoning
• rodenticide
• fishing line entanglements 

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

In this episode, I talk about why it's not in the best interests of raptors to be kept by humans who are not permitted to treat wildlife. I talk about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that protects birds of prey and I also talk about my approach to getting people to surrender birds of prey they've picked up.

About Nancy McDonald:

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

Every raptor rescuer wants to save sick or injured bald eagles. The first one is always a capture to remember. My first bald eagle rescue caused a traffic jam in Washington DC! Listen to the episode to hear how that went down.

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

You never forget your first large raptor rescue, especially if it's an osprey. In this episode, I share my story with you. It includes early April temps in the 40's, 40MPH winds, diving into the Magothy River in a bathing suit and crawling on hands and knees to save an osprey.

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

People ask me "How can I start rescuing raptors?" In this episode, I talk about:

• Don't despair if you can't find a wildlife rescue organization devoted to birds of prey - pretty much all wildlife rehabbers accept sick, injured and orphaned raptors
• Making the commitment to be available and reliable
• Pairing up with an experienced rescuer to learn techniques
• Complying with the organization's training program
• Checking with the organization to see if they provide your raptor rescue equipment
• Setting boundaries on your time
• Being safe while rescuing birds of prey

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

There is some basic equipment you'll need to rescue birds of prey. I start out listing the most common items and why they're important for safely rescuing raptors, then I talk a little about some specialized equipment that helps me when I'm out capturing injured/sick birds of prey.

About me:

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

Listen on Amazon or Google.

People ask me all the time "what's it like to rescue raptors?" 

I'm glad they ask, and here are some answers to basic questions:

• How often do you get called out to rescue birds of prey?
• What are the conditions like when you do rescues?
• What happens after you rescue/capture the raptor?

And more...

About Nancy McDonald:

Nancy is a volunteer raptor rescuer who has been planning, coordinating and doing bird of prey rescues for over five years. She started out transporting sick and injured birds of prey and moved onto rescuing, renesting and releasing raptors in Maryland, primarily along the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding rivers and creeks.

Nancy's volunteer rescues have been featured in stories locally on WTOP and WMAR, as well as nationally in the New York Times and American Forestry magazine.

Nancy also provides information on building raptor nest baskets, osprey platforms and owl boxes. She does speaking engagements that provide facts and information about ospreys that live on the Chesapeake Bay. Nancy also does public education programs featuring live birds of prey that are native to Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Nancy is a retired U.S. Federal government employee and U.S. Army veteran. She now runs her own consultancy, which gives her the flexibility to quickly respond to requests for rescues. When not working or doing raptor rescues and care, she enjoys sailing, working out and spending time with her spouse, two cats and dog.

You can also follow Nancy on Instagram, where she posts her rescues, renestings and releases.

I'm introducing myself - I'm Nancy McDonald, a raptor rescuer here in Maryland. This episode outlines some of the topics I'll be talking about in the future.

• What's it like to rescue raptors
• Top 5 causes of raptor injuries/illnesses - fishing line, HBV, window strikes, rodenticide, lead poisoning
• What equipment do you use to rescue raptors
• How can I get started rescuing raptors
• Raptor transport basics
• Eagles and egos
• Raptor rescue stories
• U.S. raptors are federally protected! MBTA, BGEA
• raptor rescues and risks
• Water rescues
• Renestings
• Releases