Newsletter from the Black Hills Raptor Center
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
The weather has been amazing for construction! As John put it the other day, “We had a month of October that was 120 days long!” Our volunteers have made the most of it.
The first bird building on the property, the intermediate sized rehab pods, has been built by volunteers. Contractors poured the footings and did the wiring. Other than that, many amazing people have contributed countless hours. The building is roofed and sided, the window openings covered with thick clear plastic, and volunteers are working on finishing the inside of the individual mews.
The onsite residence is being constructed with a blending of contractors and volunteers. Fulton Construction is building the exterior shell. Kuipers Construction is doing the concrete. Freeman Electric and Climate Control Systems & Solutions are handling electrical and HVAC/ plumbing work. When those key pieces are complete, the work gets turned over to volunteers. We will need help framing, building staircases, and painting. If you enjoy this type of work, we will gladly take your help in April, May and June! We look forward to sharing the progress as we approach moving dates.
In turn, we will send you emails with notification of upcoming volunteer days so you can pick dates that work for you. Ten hours of time is what you need to contribute in order to get your gift."
Maggie Engler & John Halverson
Co-Founders
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Help Create Habitat!
The land owned by the BHRC is western SD prairie…Rapid Creek bottom land. It is a flat stretch of ground, and very open.
In order to have ideal habitat for native birds and insects, we want to plant a 5 row tree belt on three sides of the property. The 2021 year effort is a 300 foot stretch of native trees and shrubs, that will arc around the northwest corner of the property.
Five rows of trees of staggered height will provide a wind break for the buildings. The species of trees and shrubs have been selected because they are native to western SD; provide food for birds and insects; and create a visual barrier between our land and the neighbors.
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YOU can be part of this effort! For a donation of $25, you can buy 5 trees, the landscaping fabric, plus deer & rabbit fencing to surround your trees.
Buy a gift for someone who loves wildlife.
Buy a gift for the birds.
Buy a gift for yourself!
This year’s seedlings include the following species:
Cottonwood
Hackberry
Locust
Currant
Buffaloberry
Wild plum
Sandcherry
Chokecherry
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Plus, you can choose to come plant your own trees, or have volunteers plant them for you. Simply tell us on the order form what you wish to do. When we know when the trees will be delivered, we will notify you if you want to help plant your own trees.
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In order to keep the birds safe from harm, and make it possible to accept birds in need of rehabilitation during off hours, the Board is planning to have an on-site manager.
The small house with attached garage will double as the office and the rehab center while the Rehabilitation and Research Hub is being built. The house and garage will include a porch where programs can be presented in our first couple years on the site.
Fulton Construction of Hermosa is our builder.
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Looking West -
The first bird building, the intermediate sized rehab pods, are enclosed and volunteers are now completing the interior.
We added nsulation in the ceiling for sound deadening (think hail stones hammering on a metal roof).
Ceilings will be finished, 4 inches of pea gravel was added for “flooring” (Thanks Scout Troop 131!) , the walls are being sheeted with plywood, and strategic areas will get a lining of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, or “bead board”. That way volunteers can wash and disinfect the splatter zones.
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Want to help us Help the Birds?
There are three simple things you can do right now:
1) Save your Family Fare grocery store receipts. We need to reach $150,000 worth, and are currently at $36,000. The receipts MUST have your Family Fare card number on it! So, you have to use your savings card (often times paired with your phone #) at the time of check out. When we get to $150,000 of qualifying receipts, we will receive a check for $1,000 from Nash Finch.
2) Next trip to Lowes, Menards, or Knechts, buy a $10 gift card and mail it to the BHRC at PO Box 9713, Rapid City, SD 57709.
3) Include the BHRC in your estate planning. We can accept gifts of cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, or vehicles with a clear title. Our tax identification number is 27-4423598, which is a detail your financial advisor will want to have.
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We tallied up the programs we could NOT hold in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 21 of them were cancelled. Who knows how many of them never got requested because there was no way to meet in person?
Our education volunteers have come up with some great options for teachers and group leaders. The avian ambassadors will meet with your group by Zoom! It takes a bit more planning, and thus a bit more lead time to get the program organized. The ideal situation is that the volunteers bring the birds to the school and set up in an empty room, so that the technology is 100% on the school’s system. If that is not an option, we will find a location where birds and volunteers can be indoors with technology.
Once warm spring weather returns, we can meet with students outdoors in a socially distanced manner.
Across the top in the navy blue menu bar you will see “Book A Program”. Click that link and you will see a simple form to fill out. It will get emailed directly to us, and we will do our utmost to accommodate your request.
We do have some scholarship funds from area Optimist and Cosmopolitan Clubs to cover the cost of local school programs. First come, first served.
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Shout out to Local Businesses for their Support!
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Monument Health’s has granted BHRC a financial award of $900. We requested their help to purchase a lead testing machine. We now have $1,900 of the total needed to buy the device, which costs $2,800.
Each of the wild birds that comes to us for care will be tested for the presence of lead. This particular machine will give us a read-out in 3 minutes’ time, and we will know if we should begin treatments for lead poisoning.
All our testing will be documented, and the information shared with wildlife management personnel from the state, tribal and federal levels. Over time, we will be able to help demonstrate if lead is or is not present in large concentrations in our state.
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Black Hills Energy has been supporting non-profits and individuals that have been struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are very grateful that they approved the BHRC request for $500 to help off-set the lack of income we have been able to generate. Our educational programs are our principal source of income for our operations. Since we have not been able to present our typical number of school presentations since March of 2020, our income level has been drastically reduced. Thank you Monument Health and Black Hills Energy, for believing in us.
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Rats for a Rat -Thank you!
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We can’t say thank you enough! Our second annual Rats for a Rat fundraiser brought in ¼ of the food budget for the year. Enjoy this thank you video created by two of our volunteers, Mack and Megan.
And the birds would like to say: THANKS!
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Public Programs & Meet 'n Greets
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March 27-28. Black Hills Home Show The birds will be in the booth on Saturday and Sunday of this annual event. Buy a kestrel nest box; sign a 2 x 4 for the construction; take some pictures of the avian ambassadors; and get some BHRC swag. We look forward to seeing you.
April 22 Custer – 1st annual Artists Open House. The Custer Beacon is hosting a group of artists from 4-7pm. The birds and artist Jim Hatzell will be attending. Jim will be creating a piece of art of one of the birds and we will have a silent auction for it!
May 22-23 Legion Lake Resort in Custer State Park. SD State Park Open House Weekend. This year’s pancake feed proceeds will be donated to the construction project at the BHRC! We are so grateful. Bring the family, have some delicious pancakes, and see the birds up close. We will be there from 8-10am each day.
June 15 Edgemont. 12-5pm. Mickelson Trail Trek ending point for the day is in Edgemont. The birds will be there to greet the bicyclists as they end their first day of riding.
June 17 Deadwood 6:15pm Family Fun Night in Outlaw Square. Join us for a great bird program designed for families.
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Please forward this on! AND PLEASE share this on social media, simply click icon below so all your friends and family learn more about our lovely birds. Thanks!
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