Kate Davis

Raptors of the Rockies

When Kate introduces Max, a golden eagle, to a room full of school children, there is no doubt he leaves an impression. He stands three feet tall and his wings, when opened, stretch seven feet across. The fact that Max is only a few feet from the audience makes it all the more impressive. Having a live bird to work with during these instructional programs creates a stronger sense of connection for the audience and, hopefully, a new awareness of all things wild.

Since 1988 Kate Davis has taught more than 80,000 people, in nearly 1000 programs, a new appreciation for the birds of prey and their habitat. Over 70 times a year, she loads an assortment of props and a few rehabilitated birds into the back of her Subaru and takes her show on the road. Audiences are always eager to see such majestic birds up close and Kate’s enthusiasm equals their desire. “I love to teach all ages, but I really love to teach sixth graders” says Kate. When visiting with Kate it’s impossible to miss the deep connection she has with all the birds in her instructional team. She relates anecdotes about each bird’s quirky habits as quickly as she rattles off facts and information about the number of peregrine eyries in the Bitterroots. It is her passion to live and work with these birds daily and sharing that passion with others comes easily to Kate.

The Raptors of the Rockies program, of which Kate is executive director, began in 1988. She has almost two dozen raptors on loan from the federal government for educational purposes and each bird Kate has is on a possession, eagle exhibition or falconry permit. These permits require Kate to use them for educating the public a minimum of twelve times a year. With over 70 presentations each year, Kate has no problem fulfilling her requirements with the birds. The Raptors of the Rockies program has become a successful venture in its goal to educate and inform people about these magnificent birds of prey and the importance of the wilderness they live in.

The challenge for Kate has become how to reach an ever growing audience around the state of Montana without running her sixth Subaru into the ground. Each year the Subaru tallies about 14,000 miles to get Kate to the various programs she presents. The time commitment and miles on the road make it difficult for Kate to reach as many individuals as she wishes. To help with the accessibility of Raptors of the Rockies, Kate has put together two different educational tools for use when she cannot personally present.
Kate has created a book titled Raptors of the Rockies for anyone interested in learning about the birds of prey in the rocky mountain west. The book contains fact sheets for all the raptors found in the rocky mountain region, an introduction to the program birds Kate uses for teaching, and general information about raptors. The book is colorful and well illustrated making it fun to read and discuss. The book is available through a variety of local booksellers or online through the Raptors of the Rockies website.

The second educational tool Kate has created is the traveling trunk. She loans these plastic trunks to schools for introducing and teaching the topic of raptors when Kate can’t. The trunk contains bird mounts, feathers, wings, skulls, and sample activity plans for the classroom. Since Kate can only travel with her team of birds to locations she can return from in less than a day, the travel trunks serve as a useful outreach tool.

It’s safe to say that Kate’s raptors program has taken off. She teaches as many programs as she can personally handle and caring for an assortment of birds is an all consuming job. “I can truly say that there isn’t anything I would rather be doing,” claims Kate. She spends several hours each day feeding and checking up on her birds. Then she spends as many or more hours preparing grant applications, filling out federal reports, or sorting through the data on her birds and the programs they have been part of. It takes approximately $50,000 per year to run the Raptors of the Rockies program and it’s supported by local foundations, and the rest from generous individual donations. All the time committed to the birds in Kate’s care leaves precious little time for her newest passion, creating metal sculptures.

Kate has been an artist for years. She has tried her hand at many different art forms including taxidermy, painting, and etchings. In fact she has become quite an accomplished artist as many of her works adorn the pages of Raptors of the Rockies and several pieces have been sold to help fund her programs. In 1993 Kate was honored when one of her etchings, of an osprey, was accepted into the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodsun Art Museum’s Birds in Art exhibit. Sculpting however is a brand new art form to Kate and it has consumed her.

Kate was taught the basics of welding metal sculptures from a friend, Bill Ohrmann. Ohrmann is an accomplished artist himself who has created several large-as-life sculptures, including an eleven-foot tall mastodon, and a ten-foot tall polar bear. The polar bear was recently on display at Caras Nursery and Landscape along with a number of other artists sculptures including Kate.
There are several very large works of art now gracing Kate’s home and her passion for her art continues to grow. She has created sculptures of a peregrine, a raven, a sandhill crane, among others, and she is presently working on a blue heron. The entire garage has been transformed into her home art studio and she will often work until one or two in the morning. She has no formal training in welding, but it’s plain to see the volume of welding she has done recently has helped to refine and improve her technique.

With an eye for details, Kate carefully measures wings and stuffed birds to create an anatomically correct metal form. She starts by cutting, bending and welding a structural skeleton much like the real birds skeleton would look like. Then with a plasma cutter she cuts every feather to precisely one and a half times the size of the real thing. Each feather is carefully aligned and then welded to the skeleton. The result is amazing as each sculpture takes shape and comes to life. “You see this wing? I welded every feather on this wing backwards. I had to cut them each off and start over again.” Kate says as she points to a flying peregrine sculpture. So far she has not been dissuaded by a few minor setbacks and the scratches and scars on her hands from years of handling live birds of prey have been joined by the burns and scars from their welded counterparts. It takes a serious amount of dedication to learn a new craft, and learn to do it well. Kate’s approach to her newfound art form mirrors that of her approach to the Raptors of the Rockies. If someone is truly passionate about something the rewards make all the work worthwhile.