Raptor View Research Institute

Friends THANK YOU!!! This osprey rescue was a success and so was our Missoula Gives campaign. Nearly 45 people contributed to RVRI during the giving frenzy and we raised more than $8,000 which unlocked our $5,000 match gift from a generous donor. Boom💥You guys are the best.

Team Raptor View!!!! You are amazing! Thank you for getting us so close to our goal. We can do this!!!! The Missoula Gives link is in our bio. You get a sweet hoodie for a donation of $200 or more. We got this team😍

Rob is on his way to Helena, MT ASAP to rescue an adult female Osprey with several feet of baling twine tangled around her leg. Entanglement like this is a major—and often fatal—threat to both adult and young Osprey. We are the only organization in Montana equipped to safely capture free-flying Osprey, an incredibly complex and delicate process. With some luck, we can reach her before the situation turns deadly—whether from getting snagged in a tree or caught on a utility pole. Time truly matters. You can be part of the rescue. Missoula Gives starts today, and we’ve been offered a generous $5,000 matching grant. Thanks to early support, we’re already nearly halfway there! Help us reach our $10,000 goal and make rescues like this possible. Visit the Missoula Gives link in bio to donate. Thank you for helping us, help the raptors🦅

Join Rob Domenech, Executive Director of the Raptor View Research Institute, for a presentation on long-term Golden Eagle research, satellite tracking, wing-tag encounters, and what blood analysis is revealing about these remarkable birds. March 21 | 1:00–2:00 PM 📍 Choteau Pavilion Rob began exploring much of western Montana during the 1990s to locate a suitable site for establishing the first mountaintop raptor migration banding study in Montana. He founded RVRI in 2004 to facilitate this ongoing in-depth research of Golden Eagle and other raptor migration ecology. Rob graduated from the University of Montana in 2002 with a Wildlife Biology degree. When not in the field, you can find Rob promoting awareness of raptor ecology to youth and community groups. Rob enjoys whitewater kayaking, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking and bird watching.

Raptor View Research Institute was invited to speak at @montanaaudubon annual Wings Across the Big Sky birding festival this past weekend! 🦅 Alongside @mpg_ranch and @umbirdecologylab , Rob Domenech shared decades worth of raptor movement data and stories from the field. Thank you to @montanaaudubon for inviting the avian biologists of Missoula to share our cutting edge research!

Another exciting Osprey band return! Adult female Osprey X2 was banded on July 20, 2016, as a nestling from our Beck’s Pond nest in Deer Lodge, which is the same nest as J4, also known as Arnold. In 2023, at the age of eight, X2 was spotted on an Osprey platform along the Gallatin River in Four Corners, Montana, thanks to the efforts of two dedicated Citizen Scientists, Holly Pippel and Kristine Price. X2 returned on April 16, 2025, for her third consecutive year of nesting. It’s important to note that X2’s nest, like many others in our region, faces issues with baling twine. Ospreys often incorporate this durable polypropylene twine into their nests for reasons we don’t fully understand, which can pose a deadly risk for both adults and young birds. Please help by picking up any discarded twine you find. On August 23, 2023, we received a call from Kristine reporting that one of X2’s fledglings was flying around with twine hopelessly wrapped around one of her feet. Rob knew this could lead to certain death if the young bird got caught in a tree. The team baited the trap with store-bought trout and successfully caught the targeted fledgling in the trap! After a brief recovery period with Becky Kean at the Montana Raptor Center in Bozeman, the young bird was returned to the wild. Again, PLEASE remember to pick up any discarded twine. To support our mission of conserving Ospreys and other raptor species in Western Montana, please consider donating this Giving Tuesday at Give to Raptor View Research Institute | Missoula Gives

✨The return of the Ospreys! ✨ Since 2006, Raptor View Research Institute has banded and taken blood samples from over 600 individual Ospreys. In 2010, we started using blue color bands with white alpha-numeric characters and have since color-banded over 400 nestlings with these easy-to-see bands. The advantage of color bands, compared to standard metal USGS bands, is that they are easy to see and read. This allows bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts to engage in Citizen Science by reporting any banded birds they encounter. This spring has been particularly exciting, with several remarkable sightings involving color-banded Ospreys. As we prepare to celebrate Giving Tuesday, we are excited to share some of the highlights of our Osprey project. J4, also known as Arnold, was banded on July 9, 2013, as a nestling from our Beck’s Pond nest in Deer Lodge. In 2018, at the age of five, Arnold was spotted on an Osprey platform along the Jefferson River in Cardwell, Montana, thanks to our favorite Citizen Scientist, 91-year-old Jerry Lyons of Butte. Jerry graciously gave J4 the nickname “Arnold.” He returned on April 15, 2025, marking his eighth consecutive year of return. Arnold has successfully raised young every year, including two broods of four nestlings—an incredibly rare achievement for Ospreys. He truly is a superstar male!

Today is Brian Busby’s birthday, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate him than to get outside, enjoy the sunshine and the snow. It’s been over a month since we lost our dear friend and colleague. Brian was an integral part of research and education for Raptor View for the past several years. His passion, enthusiasm, and energy for not only bird conservation, but for LIFE will forever live on. Becca Busby Donaldson has organized a scholarship in memory of Brian through his alma mater, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. To donate, please visit /f/brian-busby-memorial-scholarship?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2wkULe55QbhKcueGbT5z_5XDrik1hoVPGxlfKWj5earabpIp96K7m2agQ_aem_w3GImkb3IvKVA2_VmcMAhw

We are hiring! 🦅 RVRI is looking for 3 spring hawk counters to staff the @mpg_ranch Raptor Migration Project in the north end of Bitterroot Valley, near Missoula, MT. The project will run from March 15 through 15 May. Compensation will be $2300/month, with basic housing provided for free. For more information on how to apply, visit Ornithology Exchange here: /jobs/board/short-term-positions/raptor-migration-observer-aka-hawk-watcher-r21681/ #hawkcount

Happy National Bird Day (wait, isn’t everyday National Bird Day?!) Established in 2002 by the Avian Welfare Coalition, National Bird Day is celebrated annually on January 5 to educate the public about the MANY threats birds face. It’s not just a day to celebrate the beauty and magnificence of our bird friends. It’s a call to action to raise public awareness of the realities birds deal with daily. For our raptor friends, this includes window-collisions, habitat loss, trophy shooting, lead poisoning, electrocution, car-collisions, and many more. Photo of a Sharp-Shinned Hawk by @willsboroughriver

🕊️🌲 On the twelfth day of birds-of-preymas, my biologist gave to me; twelve tail feathers! 🌲🕊️ Birds of prey have 12 tail feathers, or rectrices, as biologists refer to them as! You may notice some birds may not have all 12 feathers at a given time. This is because they molt their tail feathers. Identifying molt patterns is one of a handful of ways we can age birds. Photo of an adult male harrier by @willsboroughriver #birdsofpreymas #birdmas