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Have you ever been to The World Center for Birds of Prey?

Located just 15 minutes from downtown Boise, it's an educational campus and the headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, an international nonprofit founded in 1970 that works to protect and restore endangered raptors around the world.

Over the past five decades, The Peregrine Fund has worked to recover more than 100 raptor species in 65 countries worldwide. And it all started with the Peregrine.

On the brink of extinction

Peregrine Falcons are incredible birds. They are the fastest creature on the entire planet! Despite their small size, weighing only 1-3 pounds, Peregrine can reach speeds over 200 mph while diving to catch prey. The highest Peregrine speed ever recorded was 242 mph.

In the ‘50s and ‘60s, Peregrine Falcon populations were drastically declining due to the use of a pesticide called DDT. The chemical interfered with the Peregrines’ calcium metabolism and caused the birds to lay very thin-shelled eggs, which would crack and dent during incubation.

(Photos by Kelsey Tatton and Chad Ashley via Peregrine Fund)

By 1970, Peregrine Falcons were completely extinct in eastern North America and fewer than 40 pairs were believed to remain in the west.

Dr. Tom Cade, an ornithologist and lifelong falconer, knew there was no time to waste. He and others got to work to ban the use of DDT across the nation and recover the falcon. Over a decade, Tom and his team of biologists and falconers were successful in banning DDT and they figured out how to breed, raise and release the falcons.

On a spring day in 1980, Tom climbed into a nest box in Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. He was delighted to find a pair of falcons that he and his team had bred and released back into the wild – and the falcons were not alone. In the nest, Tom also found three nestlings, which were amongst the first Peregrine chicks to hatch in the wild in eastern North America since 1950. It was proof his work was not only successful, but that recovery of the species would soon be a matter of fact.

In August of 1999, Tom stood next to then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt as he declared that the Peregrine Falcon was officially recovered in North America. The Peregrine Falcon was removed from the endangered species list and to this day, it’s considered one of the greatest conservation success stories in history.

Through their work recovering the Peregrine, Tom co-founded the nonprofit The Peregrine Fund. The organization has since grown to be much, much more than an effort to recover the Peregrine Falcon. Since 1970, the nonprofit has worked in 65 countries across the globe to recover more than 100 raptor species, including the Mauritius Kestrel, Northern Aplomado Falcon, multiple species of Asian Vultures, California Condor, and more.

Initially, The Peregrine Fund’s breeding facilities were located at Cornell University and then at a Colorado Division of Wildlife facility in Fort Collins. But in 1984, the breeding facilities and Peregrine Fund headquarters were moved to Boise, Idaho, where it is still located today.

And trust me, it’s worth a visit.

Exploring The World Center for Birds of Prey

Located on over 500 acres on a hillside overlooking the Boise Valley, the World Center for Birds of Prey is gorgeous – and it’s in the midst of a thoughtful renovation.

I met up with Tate Mason, Director of the World Center for Birds of Prey, to get a tour of the new grounds and learn more about the Center.

“When we envisioned this new building, this new entrance, the new parking lot, it was about being able to facilitate more people, more field trips, more students. And it was about bringing the Boise community, in particular the Boise business community, to reinvest in the Peregrine Fund and the World Center for Birds of Prey,” said Tate. “This is a place where your kids are learning about birds. This is a place that is putting Boise on the map for raptor conservation. So let's make it look like it.”

The new Welcome Center is filled with natural light and nice people. This is where you pay admission, ask questions, and grab a few souvenirs from the small gift shop on your way out.

Immediately exiting the Welcome Center, you’ll enter the first exhibit. It is not only your starting place for exploring the Center but also the beginning of the overall story. There is a bronze statue of Dr. Tom Cade, who died in 2019, standing in front of the Peregrine Falcon exhibit.

“We built the Peregrine Cliffs exhibit to look like the upper Boise River, up close to the Sawtooth Mountains, where you see Peregrine Falcons. And then this Peregrine in here, this is a South American subspecies,” said Tate, pointing at the small falcon resting on a block of stone in the sun. “This is the Peregrine you’ll find down in Patagonia. So now, with the change of one bird, these cliffs no longer look like the Sawtooths but they look like Patagonia, like the mountains of Argentina and Chile.”

The huge cliff-like structure takes up about a third of the enclosure, all of which is surrounded by netting. In the corner of the cliff, about three feet off the ground, three model eggs rest on the stone surface. One egg is cracked open; the others are dented and riddled. There’s a small sloping rock face leading to the eggs. A group of kids scramble up the rocks to get a closer look.

“A trip out here is supposed to be adventurous,” said Tate, gesturing towards the kids. “We were founded by falconers that were climbing into Peregrine nests and finding broken egg shells, then putting together that DDT was the reason that was happening. So we wanted to figure out how we could authentically get that experience for kids.”

Adjacent to the Peregrine Cliffs is the Open Sky Theater, a newly redesigned open-air classroom which supports the learning by adventure intention. It’s a small amphitheater set with large sandstone blocks for benches. This is one area where live bird programs happen Tuesday through Sunday.

“In my philosophy as director, I want kids to learn with their hands and I want them to be jumping around and playing while they learn,” he said.

In the same moment, a group of young girls make a beeline for him, yelling “Hi Tate! Hi Tate!,” and taking turns giving his leg a hug. “I saw Lucy!,” one of them exclaims. “And I also saw a Great Horned Owl and a Bald Eagle." Tate shares their excitement and we are about to part ways when the youngest girl, maybe age 4 or 5, shouts out, “My favorite animal is a Turkey Vulture!”

As we make our way toward the next exhibit, Tate brings the girls’ excitement full circle.

“I have to say, and this is just a cultural observation, kids love birds now. Back in the 60s and 70s, it was not like that,” he said. Back then, there was more of an attitude toward killing birds for fun or to keep them away from farm animals. “Now, there’s so much more of a reverence from a very young age, from watching shows like Wild Kratts. Kids these days are very interested in nature.”

Another new exhibit is the Idaho Power Flight Lab. It’s a small section of two poles and power lines, and, on that day, it was also home to Lucy the Turkey Vulture.

This exhibit tells an Idaho story that I hadn’t heard before. Back in the 70s, Morley Nelson, a falconer and educator who lived in Boise, was thinking about how power lines are designed and why birds kept getting electrocuted by them.

He figured out an adjusted design for power poles with a lowered cross arm stretched to ten feet wide and vertically offset wires. These slight adjustments made it so it was physically impossible for a bird to touch the two wires, and therefore birds could land and take off from the pole without being electrocuted. Idaho Power adopted the new design and it has since been adopted around the world, saving the lives of countless birds of prey.

Another cool new addition on display here is updated signage. Rather than a sign that simply says that the bird is, these are more of a field guide that allows visitors to examine the birds they are looking at and look for characteristics to determine the species.

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The Record Exchange will have sales on vinyl, video, apparel & more all weekend. Things kick off on Thursday, April 20, with an in-store performance by Boise hardcore legends State of Confusion. On Saturday, April 22, join the Record Store Day After Party (21+) at Spacebar Arcade from 8pm-2am.

Check out the RSD drops and find more info at therecordexchange.com​

Meet the resident raptors

There are over a dozen resident raptors at center, and they have all experienced something that makes them unable to survive in the wild. One important thing to make clear: The World Center for Birds of prey is not a rehab facility.

“We are an education program with the intention of saving species,” said Tate.

The birds that you see on exhibit are not sick or injured. They will not be released back into the wild, for a variety of reasons. Here's a few of the birds you can meet at the center:

Sky the Bald Eagle had a broken wing when she was young. She initially went to a rehab facility with the intention of being released back into the wild, but she was unable to fully recover. Now she lives at the World Center for Birds of Prey, and puts on a show for visitors by flapping her massive wings and letting out a screech here and there.

Grayson the Harpy Eagle was my favorite. He is huge and gorgeous and a little bit scary. Grayson was hatched in Panama as part of The Peregrine Fund’s breeding program. He was released into the wild in 2003 and lived in the forest for four years, but he became accustomed to tour guides feeding him and lost his fear of people. Grayson was recaptured for his safety and now lives at the World Center for Birds of Prey. He is one of few Harpy Eagles in the US that can be handled on the glove.

Bob the American Kestrel was found as a young chick outside of a failed nest. He was rescued by humans and imprinted, meaning he never learned to fend for himself in the wild. Bob is not on exhibit, but he does demonstrate his flight skills in the open-air classroom.

Lucy the Turkey Vulture was hatched in Louisiana in 2001 and illegally taken into captivity and kept as a pet. By the time she was rescued she had already been imprinted and could not be released into the wild. She is on exhibit and the star of Vulture Talks, where she teaches people about nature’s recyclers.

The California Condors are also worth noting. There were three huge birds on display that day, one of whom made quite the show taking a bath. These birds are part of The Peregrine Fund's breeding program and will be the parents of the next generation of California Condors that are released into the wild.

In addition to the birds on exhibit, the World Center for Birds of Prey has one of the largest captive breeding programs for California Condors. Currently The Peregrine Fund has active projects in 27 countries around the world, but the biggest project is the recovery of North America’s largest bird, the California Condor.

Go visit

There is soo much to see, explore, and learn at The World Center for Birds of Prey.

In addition to the courtyard exhibits, there is the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center which shares so many stories, bits of history, current and past projects, and houses even more birds.

There is a large scale breeding program on the campus, though the public is not allowed in this area because the birds will eventually be released into the wild.

The Archives of Falconry is also housed on the campus. It's incredible. The library collections include over 20,000 books, monographs, journals, magazines, and more. There's also a specimen library containing more than 13,000 eggshells and study skins used for research, plus falconry equipment, memorabilia, and media collections from the ancient aport of falconry.

You can go visit The World Center for Birds of Prey at 5668 W Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709. Regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday 10am - 5pm. There are live bird programs at 10:30am, 12pm, 2pm, and 3:30pm. Last entry admission and the interpretive trail closes at 4:15 pm.

This Saturday, April 22 is the Grand Opening for the new facilities at the World Center for Birds of Prey. It will be a lovely day to visit. Here’s the schedule:

• 9 am: Ribbon Cutting (all are welcome)
• 10 am: doors open (members are free)
• 11-3 pm: Idaho Power and Raptor Conservation
• 11-4 pm: Foxy Franks Food Truck
• 1-4 pm: Western Collective Birds of Prey Beer Release

You can learn more about The Peregrine Fund and The World Center for Birds of Prey here. As a nonprofit, your donations and willingness to volunteer or adopt a bird are always in need.

Thanks for reading and happy exploring!

With love from Boise,

Marissa

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