Help Birds of Prey Northwest fly high

Birds of Prey Northwest could use some help. 

By now, you’ve probably heard its center of operations in St. Maries was badly damaged in the recent windstorm, with not only the home of owners Don and Jane Veltkamp struck by falling trees, but several aviaries were damaged or destroyed. 

For a 32-year-old nonprofit far from flush with cash, it’s a major blow and recovery will take time. Some birds on the mend there died in the storm, and others that escaped their damaged enclosures were not fully rehabbed and may not survive. It is a traumatic experience for the Veltkamps. 

Volunteers are helping clean up, repair and rebuild, and a GoFundMe has been started for donation, so there are ways to help, and we encourage you to do what you can. 

Here is why: 

Don and Jane Veltkamp are good people. They work long and hard hours for little or no pay. They respond to calls about found, injured birds day and night. They endure injuries rescuing and caring for birds. They put on programs to let young and old know about eagles, falcons, owls and ospreys and their roles in our ecosystem. 

They know what they are doing. 

Jane Veltkamp is coauthor of two award-winning children’s books, "Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle" and "Swoop and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans and Found Them a New Family in the Wild."

Before BOPNW, Don spent 36 years in the insurance business, the last 29 as an executive director of a large region covering over 10 states. Today, he assists as one of the main bird handlers and uses his woodworking talents to upkeep aviaries.

Their mission to educate the public about birds of prey and provide medical treatment to injured, sick or orphaned wild raptors is one to be admired and supported. They have rescued birds struck by cars, shot, electrocuted and poisoned. 

Some, near death, were brought back to health and released into the wild. The joy on the faces of Don and Jane when a rehabbed eagle flies free says all you need to know about what this means to them.  

But only about half the raptors that come to Birds of Prey Northwest recover. The others are either euthanized or die, their injuries too severe.

Bald eagles, once critically endangered, began to recover when the insecticide DDT was banned in 1972. Today, there are estimated to be between 500 to 800 bald eagles in Idaho and more than 300,000 nationwide.

While each raptor death hurts, Veltkamp previously told The Press it’s important to focus on the victories, on those that are rehabilitated and released into the wild.

“They needed our help, they got our help and we’re happy to be here to provide the help," she said.

Saving eagles is expensive. It costs thousands of dollars to rehab each eagle, with treatment that includes blood draws, X-rays and medications. The annual food bill for the raptors at Birds of Prey Northwest is about $40,000.

Their work matters.

But this isn't about money. It’s about passion to protect and help these beautiful, winged creatures.

They do what few can or want to do. It is something not just for the good of these birds, but for the world we live in. We need birds of prey and we need Birds of Prey Northwest. 

If you can, stop by their fundraiser at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Sunday afternoon.