SIMI VALLEY : Fund-Raiser to Aid Rescue of Raptors

In their fourth year of rescuing injured birds of prey, volunteers of Raptor Rehabilitation and Release say they have reached a crisis: The number of birds in need of assistance exceeds the space available in the large flight cages area used in the final stages of rehabilitation.

“The need is unbelievable,” said program founder Jerry Thompson, who coordinates a 12-member countywide team of volunteers from his Simi Valley garage, which doubles as a hospital for birds. “We’re full to bursting, and there’s nothing else in the area.”

Help may be on the way from an Ojai-based wildlife conservation group, which has offered to build flight cages and a medical treatment facility on its 300-acre Santa Ynez Canyon Nature Preserve near Lake Casitas.

To finance construction, the 13-year-old Conservation Endowment Fund will hold a June 6 fund-raiser for the raptor program at the preserve. With injured and orphaned birds arriving on his doorstep daily, Thompson said the effort “is a must at this point.”

The Conservation Endowment Fund already makes regular donations to the raptor rehabilitation program, spokeswoman Julia Whitman said. The group’s other worldwide conservation efforts include construction of nesting sites for ospreys around Lake Casitas, she said.

Last year, Raptor Rehabilitation successfully released more than 70% of the 150 hawks, falcons and owls that the group treated in cooperation with Ventura County animal regulation and the state Department of Fish and Game. Most of the birds that fail to recover fully are euthanized, although a few are kept for the group’s school education program. Thompson said he expects those numbers to increase, further straining limited resources.

The initial phases of treatment demand little space because birds are kept closely confined to prevent further injury, Thompson said. But exercise in large wooden cages that are 25 to 100 feet long is essential before the bird is returned to its habitat.

“We also need the flights to test the bird’s ability to capture live prey,” Thompson said. “If we had enough flight cages, we could cut the time to release in half.”

The centerpiece of the June 6 event will be a presentation by Thompson and assistant Pete Triem, using hawks, falcons and owls that appear in the program’s education program. A seal and a baboon are also scheduled to appear, and will be handled by members of the Exotic Animal Training and Management program at Moorpark College, where Thompson lectures on raptors.

The fund-raiser will begin at 3:30 p.m. and include a barbecue. The cost is $25 for a single ticket and $45 per couple. Reservations should be made before Monday. To reserve tickets and get directions to the preserve, call the Conservation Endowment Fund at 649-3587.