Millie the peregrine falcon educates on conservation at the MOR

Editor’s Note: A previously-published version of this story stated that the Montana Raptor Conservation Center (MRCC) had three seagulls come into the center for lead poisoning and that Director of Raptor Education Keaton Thomas uses he/him pronouns. On March 4, this article was corrected online to reflect the fact that the MRCC had three eagles come in for lead poisoning and that Thomas uses she/her pronouns.

On the third Saturday morning of every month, there is a line out the door of the Museum of the Rockies (MOR). Children carrying stuffed birds wait eagerly among the crowd of visitors, all of whom are there to meet the feathered ambassadors of the Montana Raptor Conservation Center (MRCC).

The MRCC regularly holds “Raptor Meet & Greets” at the MOR, along with other events at Bridger Bowl, local schools and the MRCC headquarters. These are designed to educate the public on how to help preserve raptor populations for future generations, according to the MOR’s website.

At these events, attendees observe a presentation on raptors that features an ambassador bird for visual aid. These birds are rescues that have been rehabilitated but cannot be released back into the wild due to injuries or human imprinting, according to the MRCC website.

During the meet and greets, the MRCC also sets up a display table where attendees can touch real raptor wings, claws and skulls from deceased birds.

“I was excited to check [the meet and greet] out since it looked like they were going to be bringing live birds; I wanted to meet them,” microbiology and pre-vet student Paige Weaver said. “I’m definitely a hands-on learner, so I love when there’s a physical example at those kinds of events.”

The MRCC is based in Bozeman, but responds to requests for raptor rescue over 88,000 square miles of eastern Montana, according to its website.

“We started back in 1988 as Big Sky Wildcare, and then in the early ‘90s we saw a need for just raptors, so we’ve been the [MRCC] since,” said Keaton Thomas, the MRCC’s director of raptor education. “We typically rescue about 200 birds every year, but 2025 was a record-breaking year with 250.”

She said about 40 percent of birds brought to the MRCC can be released back into the wild.

The organization releases raptors provided they can lead full, productive lives. Birds unable to rejoin the wild are humanely euthanized. However, the organization does provide a lifetime home and long-term care for some unreleasable raptors serving as ambassador birds, according to the MRCC website.

This month, Millie the peregrine falcon — one of its 13 ambassador birds — came to the MOR. Millie’s story is a triumph not only for the rescue and rehabilitation of all raptors, but also, more specifically, for peregrine falcons. According to the MRCC website, the species neared extinction before conservation efforts brought their numbers back up.

“[Millie] was found right off I-90 in Bozeman. She was unfortunately hit by a car, and didn’t have any broken bones, but did sustain feather follicle damage,” Thomas said. “So, she has permanent damage to the way that her feathers grow in. She can fly, just not well enough to be released out in the wild.”

According to Thomas, raptors like Millie are a critical part of Montana’s ecosystems. She said educating the public on birds like her is essential for conservation efforts.

“We educate over 13,000 people every year, and we focus on raptor conservation,” Thomas said. “Raptors are an indicator species, so they let us know how the health of the environment that they’re in is doing. They’re very important in predator-prey control.”

Raptors maintain ecosystem health by regulating populations of small mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. Decline in raptor breeding success may indicate environmental imbalances, which is why monitoring their populations is important, according to the National Park Service website.

According to Thomas, another of the MRCC’s current concerns for raptors is lead poisoning. “We try to educate hunters and fishermen on the importance of not using lead when doing those outdoor things, because that is how they get to the lead poisoning, by ingesting pieces,” she said.

“We’ve had three eagles come in so far in 2026 that have had lead poisoning. One of them, unfortunately, did pass away. One is doing really well, and then one that we just got in is a very guarded outcome,” Thomas said.

According to the MRCC website, approximately 99 percent of injury calls are due to human factors.

Millie’s message is not only important for the conservation of raptors, but also deeply impactful for observers, according to Weaver.

“Learning about rehabilitated animals really gives you an appreciation for life,” she said.

To learn more about the MRCC, visit https://montanaraptor.org/. To report a sick or injured bird, call (406) 585-1211.