Orange County Bird of Prey Center

The Orange County Bird of Prey Center is dedicated to ensuring a healthy raptor population for generations to come

What we do: The Orange County Bird of Prey Center houses wild birds of prey that the concerned public and Federal, State, and County personnel bring to the center. During rehabilitation, a team of veterinarians and technicians at Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital examine, diagnose, and treat injured raptors, performing treatments such as medication, X-rays, surgery, and physical therapy.

OCBPC believes most raptor injuries are prevented through education. We involve thousands of people each year, with programs including non-releasable raptors at schools, civic groups, county and state parks, nature exhibits and television programs. The public participates in the release of these birds into the wild through our sponsorship program. Technology (website and social media) facilitates the education of a larger population of individuals about raptors. Our education ambassadors and their volunteer handlers participate in over 150 education presentations a year.  

History: OCBPC started in the 1980’s in a covered tennis court in a Yorba Linda backyard. In 1990, we moved to a backyard in Lake Forest to be closer to our veterinarians. 2005 saw us in our new temporary home at Rancho Las Lomas. In 2020, OCBPC moved into a permanent facility that exceeds federal guidelines for the care and rehabilitation of raptors.
While maintaining an exceptional level of care for the animals, we are turning our focus on improving our education out reach.

OCBPC Accomplishments: Our volunteers contributed more than 7,000 hours in 2023, caring for the birds and sharing our story throughout Orange County. We engaged with over 9,000 people through our education and outreach programming at local schools, nature centers, and other events in our community. Thanks to grant funding, we're able to offer our educational programming at no cost to qualified Title 1 schools. We released more than 140 successfully rehabilitated birds into the skies over Orange County, by far the most we're released in the past five years.

OCBPC Goals for 2024:
Continue to provide rehabilitation to every raptor needing help in Orange County.
Increase the number of people reached by our public education by increasing our trained educators who are able to take the raptor ambassadors out to the public.
Begin the process of making our facility open to the public by building an amphitheater for presentations and providing ADA access.
 

On-going costs for bird rehabilitation alone: approaching $250,000 annually.

The Orange County Bird of Prey Center provides educational talks and demonstrations throughout Orange County.

The Orange County Bird of Prey Center is at an exciting crossroads as we build our board and support! Never before have we had the ability to care for all needy raptors in the County. Our new facility provides larger enclosures for their rehabilitation, leading to faster recoveries.

Expanding on our existing education program, by having a publicly-accessible facility, we will be able to reach more Orange County residents and visitors. By partnering with us, you help to keep these educational opportunities affordable for our local schools, while also providing support to the rehabilitation of these magnificent creatures. As a majority volunteer organization, 75% of your donation goes directly to care for the raptors. Every time you see that red-tailed hawk soaring over an open field or perched on high, you will know that you are contributing to raptor survival in Orange County!

For over 30 years, the Orange County Bird of Prey Center successfully rehabilitated thousands of owls, hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures and returned them to Orange County wilderness. We met the medical and care needs of these birds through countless volunteer hours, donations, inexpensive educational programs and a successful sponsorship-release program. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the wonder in a child's eyes as they look closely at a Red-Tailed Hawk, learn about its role in their own backyard and then get to release it back into the wild!