As we welcome the New Year and renew our commitment to do more, we have been reflecting on how we can better serve injured wildlife and the communities who rely on us.
Ravensbeard Wildlife Center is a nonprofit facility serving nine counties across the Hudson Valley. For many people, we are the first call in a crisis. In practice, we function as the region’s Wildlife Emergency Room, with a particular specialty in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of birds of prey. The next closest facilities of comparable scale are hours away, and while individual licensed wildlife rehabilitators are scattered throughout the region, Ravensbeard often becomes the central point of care when an animal’s condition is critical.
During the spring of 2025, at the height of nesting season, we reached full capacity. We never turned an animal away, but doing so required constant rearranging. Birds were carefully moved between enclosures to make room for new arrivals while preparing others for release. Every decision required precise timing and coordination, often involving multiple steps just to ensure that each animal received the care it needed.
That experience pushed us to think beyond simply adding more space. We began asking how we could create more flexibility, improve safety, and strengthen the long term wellbeing of the animals in our care.
Our goals are clear.
- We want to increase our capacity and improve how we triage and isolate patients, allowing us to respond more efficiently while reducing the risk of disease transmission and improving overall hygiene.
- We want to provide a better quality of life for our non-releasable educational birds and other rehabbers by housing them in a separate, protected, semi climate controlled environment that shields them from extreme cold, heat, wind, and snow.
- We want to improve the privacy and security of our operations so our animals are protected from outside predators and unnecessary stress.
- And we want the ability to transport large supplies, materials, and donated items so that we can respond quickly when needs arise.
To help us reach these goals, we have created a wish list of essential items that will directly strengthen our operations and the care we provide every single day.
Your donation helps us say yes when wildlife needs us most. It helps ensure that no animal is turned away, no matter the season, and that every animal entrusted to our care is given the safest, most humane chance at recovery.
Together, we can build a stronger future for wildlife in the Hudson Valley.