Barn Owl

High in the chaffy, taffy-colored haze
of the hayloft, up under the starry
nail-hole twinkle of the old tin roof
there in a nest of straw and baling twine
I have hidden my valentine for you:
a white heart woven of snowy feathers
in which wide eyes of welcome open
to you as you climb the rickety ladder
into my love.  Behind those eyes lies
a boudoir of intimate darkness, darling,
the silks of oblivion. And set like a jewel
dead center in the heart is a golden hook
the size of a finger ring, to hold you
always, plumpest sweetheart mouse of mine.

From Valentines,
by  Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser
Listen

Visitors will receive a tour of the facility and interesting information about the many birds we cared for in 2009, those that had to spend the winter and part of the summer at the facility.

Included are:

Flight Cage Tours
Educational Displays
Thrift Shop goodies
BOP T-shirts & products
Handmade cards & jewelry
Food

Help us prepare for our busy spring & summer season by bringing an item listed below to the open house:

BOP THRIFT SHOP donation drop-off bin available at the Open House. Please donate your gently used items. All profits from the shop are used to rehabilitate injured and orphaned raptors.

Please R.S.V.P. at 303-460-0674, since the Open House will be at a different location than our listed address. All our members and friends will receive an invitation in the mail. If you wish to come to the Open House and become a member or a volunteer for the Foundation, please contact us for directions.

I can’t begin to express all that you taught me, but I’m going to try …

You taught me an ever-growing appreciation of and respect for living things. We were never without animals, always had a dog and some kitties when I was a child. You kept the most gorgeous garden. You often pointed out the more subtle beauties of the world around us. It’s not surprising then that I noticed baby birds in trouble and brought them home to you. Those babies set you on a path that led to the saving of thousands of injured and orphaned raptors, and in walking that path you inspired hundreds of people! But that’s not nearly all you taught me.

You taught me how to start my day by the cheerful way you greeted each and every morning. From you I learned the value of forbearance in the patient way you dealt with daily frustrations. I learned to love reading because you read to me. You taught me to pick my battles as you struggled to raise four kids far away from all your family. In our rebellious teens you loved us despite ourselves, and so as your child I felt an unconditional love. I also learned the meaning of clean, how to make Schnitzel, Knoedel, and Apricot Kuchen, and a sentimental love for old things and wildflowers.

From you I learned avocation and altruism, that serving a cause greater than myself is a sure way to happiness, even if that cause is saving just one tiny bird in downy feathers. I learned an uncommon awe in the proximity of eagles. I learned real empathy in caring for baby owls. In the establishment of one of the finest rehabilitation centers ever built, you taught me that anything worth doing is worth doing right and also to follow my dreams. I learned how to work hard by working beside you, in a place where the work was essentially endless. I learned that volunteerism means asking for the job that nobody else wants to do. You taught me integrity and how to stand by my convictions in your tireless efforts to improve the lives of captive raptors, and in your adamant care of the creatures that came into your hands. You showed me forward-thinking in all the childrens programs you gave and the seminars you organized. When you forced yourself to put down a bird with no chance for recovery to a decent life in freedom, I saw your strength and learned a new kind of compassion. I learned both hope and perseverance when you absolutely refused to give up, working harder than ever through lean times, a few episodes of mind-numbing burn-out, and more heartbreak than anyone should have to endure.

You taught me the joy of seeing truly the world around me, to know the landscape is full of the hidden stories of the wild things that live in it, and is not just the backdrop and scenery in the story of own life. It’s a priceless gift, to know and love and respect any creature for the endlessly complex, uniquely individual, and precious being that it is, in and of itself, nothing to do with me. Yours is the hand that has added a lifetime of richness to my days …

I see hawks everywhere.
I know the names of the singers hidden in mountain evergreens and prairie grass.
I am haunted by owls.
I miss you more than I can say.

Ever your daughter, Elke

Sigrid also is survived by her sister Inge Gann, brother-in-law Helmut Gann, and their children, Gudrun Gann-Schmidt and Guenther Gann.  She was predeceased by her brother, Dieter Noll, and is survived by his wife Annemarie Noll and their children, Uli, Albert, Hannes, Maximilian, Xandi and Elizabeth.

Sigrid was a much beloved mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and wildlife rehabilitator, whose devotion, generosity, compassion, spirit of giving, and love for life touched thousands of people.  Sigrid became a licensed raptor rehabilitator in 1982 and founded the Birds of Prey Foundation in 1984.  Her legacy as Director of the Foundation includes over 10,000 birds treated.  Sigrid’s quarter-century of often intensive, round-the-clock work gave an immeasurable boost to America’s raptor population from the many thousands of successful releases, then in turn, those birds’ countless offspring in the wild.  She conducted training seminars in bird rehabilitation, and was a tireless fundraiser on behalf of the Foundation’s avian care and release efforts.  Since the 1980s, schoolchildren all over the area were captivated and enriched by her educational programs, which featured unreleasable birds who themselves were longtime friends and companions of Sigrid’s.

A private service was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, for family, close friends and staff.  A celebration of Sigrid’s life, open to all, will be held on 23 May 2010, and will be announced through the Birds of Prey Foundation (website at http://www.birds-of-prey.org).  In lieu of gifts or flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Birds of Prey Foundation, 2290 S. 104th St., Broomfield CO, 80020, or online through their website.

Content may be used as press release or obituary

Visit with us at the Great Pumpkin Patch in October! This fall we will exhibit some of our birds on weekends at the Great Pumpkin Patch, home of U-Pick-Em-Pumpkins at Rock Creek Farm, one of Boulder’s oldest farms. With the view of Boulder’s Flatiron mountains, Eldorado Springs Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Park, it is set in a picturesque and charming location that can not be surpassed.

Have a blast finding the perfect subject for a jack-o’-lantern on 100 acres of pumpkins to choose from and almost five miles of paths in the corn mazes.

Open on weekends in October. The Pumpkin Patch will be closed if it rains.

The U-Pick-Em pumpkin patch at Rock Creek Farm is open the entire month of October from 9am to 6pm, weather permitting. Any closures due to heavy rain or snow will be posted on voicemail at (303) 465-9565.

Image used by permission, Paul Burwell Photography.

Every year the Birds of  Prey Foundation produces calendars as a fundraiser. The new BOP Desk Calendar for 2010 is now available ! This clever design makes a handy gift just in time for Valentines and other occasions for just $8.00 (incl. shipping).   Your orders help support our efforts for the birds. You can order our calendar online via PayPal:

]]> http://birds-of-prey.org/cm/bop-2010-desk-calendar/feed/ 0 http://birds-of-prey.org/cm/2009-fall-migration-celebration/ http://birds-of-prey.org/cm/2009-fall-migration-celebration/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:11:29 +0000 Elke http://birds-of-prey.org/cm/?p=443 Save the date: Saturday, October 10.

Here are the details of the Celebration – come join the fun!!

Date: Saturday, October 10, 2009
Time: 5:30 pm to 9 pm
Location: A Spice of Life Event Center, 5706 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO (Flat Irons Golf Course)
Cost: $65 per person or $600 for a RESERVED table of 8.

Guest Speakers:

Sigrid Noll Ueblacker, Founder & Director, Birds of Prey Foundation.

Stephen R. Jones, Author, Teacher. “Thirty Years of Observing Raptors in Eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska.”

Special appearances by our Educational Ambassadors, including a Great Horned Owl, Swainson’s Hawk, Kestrel, Screech Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, and Adam, our Bald Eagle.

Silent Auction *  Educational Displays * Adopt-a-Bird * Gift Shop * Cash Bar

Dinner will be catered by A Spice of Life and  both vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrees will be served. We will have a fabulous Silent Auction, and visits by some of our educational birds, plus a BOP “gift shop.”

For planning purposes, RSVP’s are due by October 2nd. Please contact Brenda at 970-593-1292 or email us at raptor@birds-of-prey.org. THANKS to those of you who have already sent in your RSVP!!!
If you cannot attend the dinner but would like to make a contribution, you can still donate online:

Or please send your donation to:

Birds of Prey Foundation,
2290 S. 104th Street,
Broomfield, CO 80020

All proceeds from the event will help fund the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors. Thanks again for your continued support.

Sigrid Noll Ueblacker, founder and director of the Birds of Prey Foundation, is one of ten finalists in the annual Animal Planet Hero of the Year award. Sigrid is a licensed rehabilitator, and has cared for numerous species of birds, but specializes in raptors. Sigrid has admitted more than 10,500 birds since 1981. This is no 9-5 job. It’s an avocation. She’s  put in 60-80 hours per week, often working late into the night with the injured and orphaned birds that come into her care. Sigrid’s steadfast dedication to insuring the best of care and thoughtful housing for these beautiful creatures for almost 30 years has inspired all of us to nominate her for this award. We dearly wish we could do more.

The award is a large  donation to her favorite non-profit, which of course would be BOP. Not to mention a lovely vacation for herself!

Vote for our HERO!

Voting begins on September 14th, 2009 and each person is allowed to cast one vote per day until voting ends on September 27th. Just click the image to the right or visit

http://animal.discovery.com/roar/hero-of-the-year/vote/

Help us support our hero and won’t you please be sure to pass this along to all your friends too!

Have you ever heard that an owl can turn its head completely around? Or that owls are blind in daylight? Or that the feather tufts on an owl’s head are its ears? Or that if you hear an owl calling, it means bad luck? These are all misconceptions that have been passed down through generations. Sigrid Ueblacker from Birds of Prey Foundation will set the records straight with her amazing presentation on Owls.

Saturday, September 12 – 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
$25 PER PERSON includes Presentation, Lunch, and Mini-Tours of the Castle

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED IN ADVANCE!

Only a limited number of seats are available! Please call Amy at 303.688.5555 ext. 3