Update on projects

With the 2018 fundraising season soon to be upon us, we wanted to share with you the progress on “capital” projects from the 2017 fundraiser!

With funds from the 2017 year-end fundraising, a stand-alone 10’ x 20’ x 9’ mew (hawk house) was constructed. This hawk house will be for a future education ambassador, as SOAR looks to accommodate the increasing number of program requests.

With the increase in raptor admits, more room for flight conditioning is needed! Here you can see the site work needed for extending a 20-foot flight area an additional 40 feet. Footings will be poured as the weather allows! 2017 #GivingTuesday donations and support from the Avangrid Foundation are helping get this project completed… if the weather would cooperate and line up with the contractor’s schedule!

When completed, this 20’ x 60’ x 20’ flight area will better accommodate large hawks, owls, or even eagles. Flight conditioning for raptors is a crucial part of the rehabilitation process. This allows raptor patients to build strength and stamina prior to release. Flight areas also allow for Kay to accurately assess a patient’s readiness for release.

As part of the contractor’s work, roof repairs are being done to the SOAR facility. The damaged opaque roofing sections are being replaced. The ridge cap on the original roof will be updated as the extension roof is finished. Predator and mosquito barriers in the roof will also will be replaced at the same time. Predator-safe flight areas are a requirement in all rehabilitation permits, so they are essential for the SOAR facility.