The World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, is the headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, an international non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves endangered raptors around the world.

Built in 1984, the World Center for Birds of Prey is located on on a hilltop overlooking Boise, south of the airport and east of Kuna. The campus consists of the business offices of The Peregrine Fund, breeding facilities for endangered raptors, the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center, and the Herrick Collections Building, which houses a large research library and the Archives of Falconry.

The Peregrine Fund is known for its worldwide conservation and recovery efforts of rare and endangered raptors. The organization's first recovery effort focused on the peregrine falcon, which was facing extinction due to the widespread use of the chemical DDT.

History

The Peregrine Fund's original breeding facilities were established at Cornell University in central New York state in 1970 and at a Colorado Division of Wildlife facility in Fort Collins in 1974.

Library and archives

Completed in 2002, the Gerald D. and Kathryn S. Herrick Collections Building provides space for The Peregrine Fund's research library, scientific specimen collections, and the Archives of Falconry. The research library collections include more than 20,000 books and monographs and full or partial runs of more than 1,400 technical journals and conservation magazines, newsletters, videos, CDs and maps. The library's Global Raptor Information Network (GRIN) is an online service that provides encyclopedia-style species accounts of diurnal hawks, eagles and falcons, connects raptor researchers and conservation organizations through a global communications network, and posts information on research findings and raptor conservation issues. The library's specimen collections include more than 13,000 eggshells and nearly 300 avian study skins for use by researchers.

The Archives of Falconry includes falconry equipment and memorabilia, artwork, field notes, and a substantial media collection on the ancient sport of falconry. The Archives of Falconry's library consists of 2,000 books on falconry, including some originals dating to 1495. The archives doubled in size in 2006 with a addition donated by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to honor his father, the founding president of the United Arab Emirates. The new wing displays an authentic Arab tent, memorabilia, and displays related to the ancient tradition of Middle Eastern falconry.

References

  • The Peregrine Fund
  • Velma Morrison Interpretive Center
  • Archives of Falconry
  • Global Raptor Information Network