Rehab & Release
SOAR provides care for well over 300 birds each year that have been injured or orphaned, primarily from western Iowa.
L&D 10 Bald Eagle Release
In mid-December, Lock & Dam 10 (Guttenberg, IA) staff alerted the Federal Warden of an injured bald eagle. The warden rescued and met up with Wildthunder for immediate care and then transfer to SOAR. This bald eagle was in rough shape with a fractured left femur, a significant wound in her left wingpit, and a
Happy barred owl
This barred owl was admitted mid-January 2021 from Marion County. A concerned citizen picked this owl up south of Knoxville on Iowa 5 in the evening and took to a SOAR volunteer the next day. The owl had broken right carpals (bones toward the tips of the wing). Owl was transported to some nice forested
Decorah Turns Seven
SOAR ambassador bald eagle Decorah is another year older! Decorah (FKA D20) hatched on 7 April 2014 in the famous Decorah Bald Eagle nest at the Decorah Trout Hatchery. Decorah is now seven years old! The video here is from December 2020. You can see his left side tail feathers still have black on
By the numbers
While 2020 is thankfully in the rear-view, SOAR is not quite done collecting bald eagle data for 2020. There are still what are termed active or pending bald eagle admits from last year. In 2020, SOAR admitted 77 bald eagles from across Iowa. Even though 12 bald eagles are still actively in rehab, most all
First bald eagle release in 2021
This female bald eagle came to us from our colleagues at Wildthunder W.A.R.S. Wildthunder received a call from a Jones County Deputy who had a visual on an adult bald eagle sitting on the side of the road not wanting to fly away. Wildthunder rescued her from the side of a road in Jones County,
Do no harm
We should all observe good raptor viewing etiquette, not only during the nesting season, but also during migration and the winter months when many raptors will gather together in good hunting areas. Snowy owls are migrating and are in the usual haunts along the coast in New England. Check out the picture with this Facebook
2020 year-end fundraiser
#GivingTuesday is on 1 December 2020! Giving Tuesday also marks the start of SOAR’s year-end fundraising. Our fundraising needs this year are not all that “exciting,” but very necessary! Your year-end donation will help us replace an aging washing machine – we know… not sexy, but oh so necessary – with a commercial grade machine
Year-end 2020
2020 has been a memorable year, albeit not one we’d like to repeat. In 2020, SOAR was again awarded a “top-rated” status from Great Nonprofits and has earned the GuideStar Bronze Seal of Transparency. Scroll to the footer to see both of these badges! What do these designations mean for the donor? Click over to
Release to say thank you!
SOAR has conservation partners across Iowa that help with rescue and transport. We often talk about “the village” that it takes for raptor rehabilitation. These folks from Winneshiek and Fayette County Conservation are some of the faces of our “village.” Not only do we need to say thanks to the rescuers… but also to their
2020 Release Party – Virtual
This is not the release party WE wanted, but on the sunny side, many folks from outside Iowa tuned in for the live broadcast. Thank you one and all. While it was a feel-good to have you watch as seven raptors were released to fly the skies once again, WE missed the interactions with the