ACES welcomes the newest member to its Education team less than a year after their last Golden Eagle passed away
Exciting news for bird lovers – just yesterday, ACES received a non-releasable Golden Eagle from the Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Del Norte, Colorado. The eagle was found with a broken wing approximately 30 miles from Great Sand Dunes National Park in November 2018.
While the eagle was at Frisco Creek, two things became clear to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife rehabilitators there. First, they determined that the bird’s wing injury was severe enough that the eagle would not be able to return to the wild and survive on its own.
Second, they noticed that the bird had an unusually calm demeanor. This type of composure is well suited to the educational outreach ACES conducts with its birds, inspiring Frisco Creek to reach out to ACES when they learned of the passing of its beloved Golden Eagle. ACES’ original, beloved eagle had lived at Hallam Lake from 1982 until her death in May 2019.
ACES staff visited Frisco Creek to meet the eagle in August before applying to have it transferred to ACES as an educational raptor. Last week, the transfer was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“ACES staff are so excited about this new chapter. It was such a great loss when we lost our Golden Eagle last May,” says ACES Marketing Manager Bowman Leigh. “We traditionally do a post-Christmas party on December 26th each year for family and friends. This year, in celebrating our new Golden Eagle, we’re adding a theme to our annual winter celebration with our community, “Family Bird of Prey Apres.” We’ll be paying special attention to the birds of prey that we’re privileged to work with at ACES. As with every bird of prey progra, we look forward to educating others about these top predators and the important role they play in maintaining ecological health.”
There will also be warm drinks and s’mores by the fire at ACES annual holiday apres. Count on holiday crafts for the kids and an ACES raptor handler doing a birds of prey program.
The new Golden Eagle – its sex and age are still unknown – is currently on display in its enclosure at Hallam Lake. Beginning in January, ACES raptor handlers will begin a training program with the new eagle. As handlers come to know the new Golden Eagle over time, the discovery of its gender and age will be shared with the community. ACES’ last Golden Eagle was a female.
ACES’ Hallam Lake winter hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and admission is free and open to the public. ACES extends a wholehearted welcome to the valley to come to meet their newest Roaring Fork raptor and welcome it to its new home~
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), a non-partisan, non-profit organization, provides enriching environmental literacy programs for kids, teens, and adults as well as community leaders and decision-makers. With three locations between Aspen and Carbondale, ACES offers year-round programs focused on science, ecology, natural history, stewardship, forest health, regenerative agriculture, civic leadership, and more. For more information and a full listing of ACES offerings, visit www.aspennature.org.