Spreading Our Wings Building a new future for the California Raptor Center.
For over 50 years, the California Raptor Center (CRC) at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has been dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors and providing wildlife education across the region. The CRC offers unparalleled rehabilitation and care for hundreds of eagles, hawks, owls, falcons and other raptors each year. Those that cannot be released may become ambassador birds in our education and outreach programs, or part of scientific collaborations from veterinary medicine to aerospace engineering.
Support the Raptor Center now and double your impact.
Thanks to a generous partner, gifts made toward our facility expansion or equipment by June 30, 2025 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
The sky’s the limit.
The existing ambassador bird enclosures at our current off-campus location are dated. Opportunities to educate and engage the public is limited to visitors who must seek us out. Imagine an expanded and upgraded space for our feathered inhabitants, nested next to the arboretum, and the CRC as a welcoming gateway to Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis.
Help build our new raptor habitat.
The School of Veterinary Medicine is launching a bold vision to expand and update our facilities over the next decade, including the opportunity to better integrate and showcase the CRC – the crown jewel of our veterinary campus.
With campus planners and partners, we have identified a location in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden just east of the Veterinary Medical Complex (VMC) where we plan to build new enclosures. The habitat will showcase our ambassador birds in a in a diverse collection of California natural habitats that leverages the educational mission of the Arboretum and curated plant collections with the CRC.
From school children on field trips to the UC Davis community and beyond, guests from around the region will enjoy their first encounters with raptors, or may return again to enjoy this beautiful place.
The new enclosures will set a national standard of care for our birds while enhancing the visitor and educational experience, and will raise the profile of our unique center.
A Special Rescue Story: Meet Sul Wita, CRC Ambassador
Visitors to the California Raptor Center (CRC) are greeted by a breathtaking sight: a bald eagle, head cocked in curiosity. Born in the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation lands, Sul Wita suffered permanent injuries as a chick. Now, guests of all ages have the unforgettable opportunity to encounter this national symbol thanks to the CRC’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
The smaller of two eaglets who hatched together, Sul Wita followed his brother to the edge of the nest and was swept to the ground by a sudden gust. His fall was witnessed by Ingela Kaersvang, a tribal member who regularly checked on the nest, "He hit the ground in a heap. I was sure he was dead, and then he lifted his head." Thanks to her quick action, the eaglet was brought to the CRC and treated for two broken wings. During rehabilitation, CRC staff observed behaviors indicative of a head injury that would make him unable to survive in the wild.
Staff called the little bird Pee Wee. Now renamed Sul Wita, a Patwin name meaning “eagle man,” he occupies a special place among the ambassador birds. With a lifespan of up to about 50 years, he may be introducing humans to raptors for generations to come.
A Closer Campus Connection
With your support, thousands of visitors each year will encounter the beauty of raptors through our ambassador birds—from school children on field trips, to our Aggie community, to clients of the veterinary hospital, and our veterinary trainees.
Meeting Our Mission
Education and Outreach for the Next Generation
Non-releasable raptors may become ambassador birds. The faces of the CRC, they introduce visitors of all ages to the beauty of wild birds of prey. Through daily contact with their human caregivers, they offer crucial hands-on training to students, preparing the next generation of avian care.
“Learning to work with these birds as individuals with different personalities, preferences and needs has been life changing.”
—Tirragen Vixie, fourth-year SVM student
Science and Discovery Take Flight
Raptors are contributing to UC Davis research on topics from aerospace engineering to our changing climate. The CRC is home to a first-of-its-kind Bird Flight Research Center led by aerospace engineering professor Christina Harvey. Harvey’s team is modeling complex wing shapes to investigate questions such as how birds control their dynamic systems in flight.
“[CRC Director] Michelle Hawkins and the California Raptor Center were a big reason I came to UC Davis.”
—Christina Harvey, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Healing and Conservation for Injured and Orphaned Birds
As we care for injured and orphaned raptors, we’re always learning. Equinox, a peregrine falcon born in the Berkeley bell tower, was brought to UC Davis with a broken wing. After months of rehabilitation, he was released to the wild. Sadly, he was rescued a second time and brought back to the CRC severely anemic and emaciated. He died within a few days. A postmortem revealed that he had pneumonia.
“Because of Nox’s case, we’ll now include an evaluation of a bird’s red and white blood cells right before release. This is not standard protocol for most wildlife facilities, but we are making this a new standard for raptor releases from the California Raptor Center.”
—Michelle Hawkins, CRC Director
For more information or to schedule a tour of the CRC, contact:
Angela Reynolds, Senior Director of Development UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
acreynolds@ucdavis.edu or (530) 304-1615
