California Raptor Center

Directions Website

California Raptor Center Providing life-saving care for injured & orphaned raptors since 1972. 🪶

Make a donation to support the Center at: https://give.ucdavis.edu/VOHI/V160000

If you find a sick or orphaned raptor visit: https://crc.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/found-sick-or-injured-raptor

Our summer visitors are heading south! Each fall, Swainson's hawks embark on an impressive migration, traveling thousand...
10/16/2026

Our summer visitors are heading south! Each fall, Swainson's hawks embark on an impressive migration, traveling thousands of miles from their breeding grounds in California to warmer wintering areas, primarily in Mexico for our Central Valley population.

Yolo County is especially important to these remarkable raptors, supporting some of California's highest nesting densities. Our region's combination of mature trees for nesting and open agricultural fields for hunting provides essential habitat for raising their young.

Listed as threatened in California, Swainson's hawks depend on the preservation of these landscapes for their continued survival. As they depart for the season, it's a great reminder of how our local agricultural lands and natural habitats contribute to the conservation of a species whose annual journey spans international borders.

Keep an eye on the skies. You might catch a glimpse of these hawks gathering or soaring overhead before they head south for the winter!

Another wonderful Open House in the books! Thank you to the 800+ people who joined us at the California Raptor Center th...
10/13/2026

Another wonderful Open House in the books! Thank you to the 800+ people who joined us at the California Raptor Center this past Saturday to meet our education ambassadors and learn about raptors! Events like these give us a chance to connect with our community, share our passion for raptor care and conservation, and hopefully inspire the next generation of wildlife stewards!

Our incredible team (made up mostly of volunteers!) keeps the CRC running year-round, from caring for injured, sick, and orphaned raptors to maintaining our facilities and grounds and supporting K-12 and community education. Even during Open House, while some volunteers were engaging with visitors, others were working behind the scenes to ensure our recovering patients received the care they needed.

A huge thank you to our volunteers, supporters, and everyone who helped make this event a success!

Looking for something fun to do this Saturday?Join us at the California Raptor Center for a FREE, family-friendly day of...
10/09/2026

Looking for something fun to do this Saturday?

Join us at the California Raptor Center for a FREE, family-friendly day of all things raptors! Get an up-close look at our incredible educational ambassador birds, watch live training demonstrations, and explore our interactive museum, complete with hands-on activities like our always-popular owl pellet dissection station.

Whether you're a lifelong bird enthusiast or just looking for a fun way to spend your Saturday, we'd love to see you!

Saturday, October 10 from 9AM-3PM
1340 Equine Lane
Davis, CA

After nearly three months of treatment and rehabilitation, this young Cooper’s Hawk is back in the wild!The hawk arrived...
10/02/2026

After nearly three months of treatment and rehabilitation, this young Cooper’s Hawk is back in the wild!

The hawk arrived at the California Raptor Center on July 4 showing signs of Horner’s syndrome (first photo), including a drooping eye and asymmetrical feather movement on its head, possibly caused by collision trauma. After evaluation by the Companion Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery (CEAMS) service at UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, the hawk received ongoing rehabilitative care at the CRC as its symptoms gradually resolved.

Once ready, the hawk moved to an aviary to demonstrate its ability to fly and hunt live prey. It also received two replacement tail feathers through a procedure called imping, which will naturally fall out as new feathers grow in.

Today, the hawk was released back to the wild (video in comments)!

Donor support makes success stories like this possible. Help give more raptors a second chance: crc.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/donate

Image descriptions:
1) Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk held in gloved hands showing asymmetrical facial features; 2) Video showing a Cooper’s Hawk flying out of a blue carrier surrounded by three people observing; 3) Smiling man and woman standing beside a blue carrier

Meet Daniel “Dan” Polin, one of the CRC’s past volunteers! 🦅Favorite Education Ambassador: It’s a three-way tie for Dan ...
09/30/2026

Meet Daniel “Dan” Polin, one of the CRC’s past volunteers! 🦅

Favorite Education Ambassador: It’s a three-way tie for Dan between Ember, Forrest, and Sul Wita. Ember was the bird he trained with most, and he loved watching her grow more comfortable on the glove and around people. He enjoyed working with Forrest thanks to his talkative, personable nature. Sul Wita was especially interesting to work with due to bald eagles’ intelligence and the process that goes into building a trusting relationship with them. Dan watched him grow from a nestling into a full adult, and even made a photo collage of his growth that’s now featured on the Bald Eagle Wikipedia page!

Favorite Memory: After five years at the CRC, Dan says it is hard to pick one favorite memory. He witnessed and contributed to birds arriving in critical condition and going on to heal and be released, baby birds raised to independence, and birds mastering new behaviors over time. Watching that long-term progress unfold is his favorite overall.

Shoutout from Staff & Volunteers: Dan Polin built the wonderful eagle bench right in front of our Golden and Bald Eagle enclosures. Visitors love to sit there and watch our eagles. The bench is a great spot for classes to gather to learn about the ambassador eagles.

Image Descriptions:
1. A man holds a Great Horned Owl with yellow eyes on a gloved hand. Green foliage in the background.
2. Two people in blue graduation regalia with caps and tassels stand outdoors under trees. The man on the left holds a Barn Owl on a gloved hand.
3. A man wearing orange gloves holds a small hawk with orange eyes inside a bird-banding tent.

California is home to a unique subspecies of the Red-shouldered Hawk, yet surprisingly little is known about its movemen...
09/20/2026

California is home to a unique subspecies of the Red-shouldered Hawk, yet surprisingly little is known about its movements — including whether individuals migrate, how young birds disperse, and how they use different habitats throughout the year.

Explorer Dr. Autumn Iverson and researchers Dr. Breanna Martinico and Dr. Ryan Bourbour—in collaboration with California Raptor Center and partially funded by the National Geographic Society — four Red-shouldered Hawks fitted with lightweight, solar-powered GPS transmitters that use cellular and satellite technology to track their movements. These transmitters allow scientists to follow each bird after release, revealing where it travels, how large its home range is, and which habitats it depends on throughout the year.

Red-shouldered Hawks are associated with sensitive riparian ecosystems — of which 90% have been lost in California. Like many birds of prey, injured or orphaned Red-shouldered Hawks are frequently admitted to wildlife rehabilitation centers. As more rehabilitated raptors are returned to the wild, there is growing interest in understanding how they survive and adapt after release.

This project highlights the positive impacts that wildlife rehabilitation can have on raptor populations while providing new insights into the movement ecology and habitat use of California’s Red-shouldered Hawks.

Image Descriptions:
1. A Red-shouldered Hawk looks to the side as it wears a small device on its back.
2. Three researchers stand and hold two of the Red-shouldered Hawks from the study.
3. A Red-shouldered Hawk is held by a hand with its back turned to the camera and a small device on its back.
4. A Red-Shouldered Hawk perches on a branch on a tree in the distance.

Address

1340 Equine Lane
Davis, CA
95616

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 12pm
Sunday 9am - 12pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when California Raptor Center posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category