Ospreyfundraiser

A fund raiser for a release tower structure, acquisition of young osprey for release, care taker internship, web observation camera, and other associated osprey introduction project costs will be held at:

4 to 6 pm - HAY RACK RIDES
Tour the scenic river valley from aboard a tractor-pulled hayrack.

5 pm - OSPREY/ BARN OWL PRESENTATION
Meet a live barn owl, and learn about the osprey project and all the elements needed to bring this fish-eating bird back to the river vally as a nester.

6 pm - HOMEMADE MEAL
A homemade meal of grilled bison burgers, three bean salad, corn casserole and bountiful desserts.

7 to 10 pm - BARN OWL BAND
Hoot it up with barn dance music from the mighty Barn Owl Band! The nationally recognized Owls are powered by fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, piano, accordion, and upright bass and give new wing to the exciting sound of the traditional American string band. It's good old-fashioned, toe-tapping, foot-stomping entertainment brought up to date with fresh renditions of time-honored tunes and songs, as well as new compositions that add to the tradition. www.barnowlband.com

AUCTIONS BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER
Don't forget to bring some spare cash or your checkbook, because we will also have a live auction featuring a gift certificate for a canoe float, bison steaks, fresh-cut flower bouquets, homemade pies and chance to release the rehabilitated owls back to the wild.

Join SOAR – Saving Our Avian Resources, The Barn Owl Band and WhiteRock Conservancy for an evening of fun for the birds!

Tickets are $15/person and are available at Calamity Jane’s in Bayard, Windy Ridge Flowers or The Enterprise Office in Coon Rapids, or call 712/683-5555 to reserve yours.    Or, send a check, with your name(s) to
               S.O.A.R.      25494 320th St.      Dedham, IA      51440                                         and we will hold tickets at the door for you.
          Tax deductible donations can also be made to the same address.
                                                     www.soarraptors.com

More about Ospreys
Ospreys, commonly called fish-hawks or fish-eagles, are actually neither hawks nor eagles, but a unique species of raptor. Ospreys are superb at fishing, catching prey with their feet after spectacular feet-first dives. They usually enter the water completely, and are able to both completely submerge and then quickly launch themselves with special, double-jointed wings.
The tribal lore of the Omaha Nations includes accounts of Ospreys nesting in Iowa, but they have been absent since European settlement. Beginning in 1997 the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been working with local groups to try to introduce the birds to places such as the Coralville Reservoir, the Cedar River, and the Saylorville Reservoir.

The first recent successful nesting was near Spirit Lake two summers ago. Now some West-Central Iowa groups are getting involved as well.

To learn more about osprey and the re-introduction program, http://www.iowadnr.com/wildlife/files/ospreyindex.html

Details about the Osprey Release Project
(how your financial support will be used)

   Release tower structure presently located at Saylorville Lake/Jester Park will be dismantled and relocated to Whiterock Conservancy.   The 30' tower is being donated, but there will be substantial costs to move it.

      Young, nesting osprey will be moved from plentiful populations in

Minnesota and Wisconsin by Iowa Department of Natural Resources

personnel for relocation to the Whiterock Release Tower.

    An intern will be hired, under the supervision of Kay Neumann, to feed and monitor the osprey during its first couple of months in Iowa.

    As the nestlings mature and begin to fly they will spend

time learning to fish and imprinting on the Middle Raccoon River Valley

before migrating to South America for the winter.

   The Coon Rapids FFA Chapter will be helping to install nest

structures for the birds to use when they (hopefully) return to the area

from down south and start nests of their own.

    A web camera is planned for observation in the release tower to

monitor the nestlings before and after release. Mortality is high, so least four sets of fledglings will have to be raised in the valley, in order to eventually end up with one wild nesting pair.

Whiterock Resort

Osprey Fundraiser - July 23rd

Contact Information