Having broken the bonds of gravity millions of years ago, these magnificent avian predators have dominated the skies ever since. Soaring on four foot wings like the Snowy Owl, or rocketing out of the clouds at 350 kph like the Peregrine Falcon, raptors are a force to be reckoned with. Even the tiny, fist sized Pygmy Owl has been known to tackle prey as large as an adult California Quail.

         Varied in appearance, so too are these birds varied in their particular hunting prowess. Hawks and eagles can focus their binocular vision and spot a rabbit two km away.  Owls mostly rely on stealth and a sense of hearing so acute they can lock in on the rustling of a small rodent in total darkness. The Golden Eagle can crush a mammal’s spine with a grip upwards of 1,000 pounds per square inch, while the Peregrine renders its avian prey unconscious in mid-air, from the impact of its aerial assault.

         Over the last decade, IWNCC has done its part to keep these amazing animals in our skies, by rescuing 17 different species of raptor.