A Bird's-Eye View of Skegemog Raptor Center

From mice guts to medicine, broken wings to biofield tuning, we go behind the scenes with northern Michigan’s raptor rescue

By Todd VanSickle | March 22, 2025

Photo by Tyler Franz

On a cold, rainy April day in 2021, James Manley received a phone call about an injured bald eagle near a small lake in Wexford County. At the time, he was in the process of creating the Skegemog Raptor Center (SRC) and was awaiting approval of its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

When he arrived at the scene, the bird jumped into the lake and swam away. It was getting dark, and Manley had no choice but to return the next day with a canoe. He spent more than 20 minutes chasing the injured eagle around the lake before it was safely captured. Upon examination, Manley discovered that the bird had a fractured wing from a shotgun blast.

“It was so surprising to me that a bird with a fractured wing swam around that lake for 20 minutes before I could capture it,” Manley says. “It really shows how strong their will to live is.”

About three months later, the bird was rehabilitated and released. It would be the first of about 100 success stories for the nonprofit in the coming years.

By August 2021, SRC’s nonprofit status was approved. Since then, more than 420 birds have been admitted to the center, with admissions increasing each year—largely due to human interactions.

SRC operates on a limited budget and is running out of space, as it operates primarily out of Manley’s home and other volunteer’s residences. The nonprofit hopes to expand in the near future as it continues to rescue raptors and spread more public awareness about the birds.

“We are a small, young organization,” Manley says. “We are looking to grow, because the demand is so great. We are pretty excited about this year—we have some big plans, but all those things are going to be very costly.”

Finding a Home

On a recent visit to Manley’s home, an injured bald eagle had just been admitted from the Upper Peninsula. The bird joined two other eagles, a snowy owl, and a red-tailed hawk. A couple of the raptors were in Manley’s backyard in wooden enclosures, while the majority of the birds were in his basement, housed in large animal crates sharing space with freshly folded stacks of laundry, medical equipment, and a stainless steel examination table with a bowl of dead mice waiting.

Manley is thankful that a nearby farmer, Louie Rasho, has allowed the center to use some of his property to house recovering raptors, but that’s only a stopgap solution.

“We are working on plans to find a central location,” Manley says, noting that they are in negotiations with a property owner in Grand Traverse County. “We are hoping to begin plans to open a public center and be located in one spot.”

He adds that having a single SRC location would help grow the organization and house more educational and ambassador birds to provide more public awareness and research.

Manley, who is also a falconer, would rather be working solely with the birds full time in the field, but knows the importance of community involvement in raptor rehabilitation. He says the majority of the injured birds have been hit by vehicles or suffer from poisonings, so education and exposure is key.

In 2023, Manley rescued a federally banded bald eagle that turned out to be 29 years old.

“From 40 feet away, I could tell it had severe lead poisoning, because I see it so often in eagles,” Manley says. “Sadly, we had to put the bird down. It had enough lead in its system to probably kill 20 eagles or more. It is a lot of heartbreak.”

Growing Awareness

But the challenges are balanced with the successes. On Jan. 25, SRC released a snowy owl behind Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg. Two parking lots were cleared of snow for the event, and by the time the ceremony got under way, the lots were at capacity.

“We need everyone to move across the street,” a volunteer instructed the large crowd that had gathered to see the owl release. “It is going to fly north.”

The snowy owl was rescued on Nov. 26, 2024, between Acme and Elk Rapids. The owl arrived at SRC emaciated with a fractured wing, most likely after being hit by a vehicle. After two months of care, the owl was ready to be released into the wild.

Hundreds of people—from bird enthusiasts carrying telephoto lenses to young children clutching stuffed toy owls—waited to catch a glimpse of the snowy owl on the blustery day.

“It is probably the biggest turnout we’ve had for a release,” says Manley. “I think we had over 300 people. It was good to see the community come together to see the owl turned loose and set free. We were pretty excited to see all those people join us for that.”

Getting Involved

Throughout the event, several volunteers wearing orange aprons—similar to those a Home Depot employee would wear—collected donations, answered questions, and made sure the event ran smoothly.

The nonprofit depends on public support, especially when it comes to volunteers. The numbers fluctuate due to the nature of the work, but the organization relies on about six consistent volunteers that take weekly shifts.

“People come to the releases and they see the pinnacle of what we do,” Manley says. “And then they realize helping means: gutting rats and mice for food and scrubbing bird poop. We see a lot of traumatic injuries. It can be quite jarring for some people. It takes a person with a lot of heart and courage to help these birds.”

He adds that the center is always looking for more volunteers, including carpenters who can build bird enclosures.

Donations are another big piece of the puzzle, as housing, transportation, feed, and medication for the raptors do not come cheap. The structures for the birds alone can cost more than $4,000 each. SRC operates on about a $60,000 annual budget and it is expected to increase as more and more raptors are admitted.

In January, the center had been caring for two eagles for more than six months. “When you tally up the care, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to care for a bird that long,” Manley says. “It gets expensive.”

Lifesaving Work

During the snowy owl release, volunteer and assistant director Chris Johnson walked around the crowd carrying a wooden birdhouse that was modified like a piggy bank to accept donations.

Johnson, a retired US National Parks Service law enforcement ranger, once dealt with a case involving the prosecution of a man who was shooting eagles in Montana. “That was probably the biggest wildlife case I have ever worked on in terms of prison sentences,” Johnson says.

Today he is saving birds with SRC. He has been with the nonprofit since the beginning, having worked with Manley at Wings of Wonder, a raptor rehabilitation center in Empire, until the owner, Rebecca Lessard, retired. Johnson got a permit and took on two raptors from Wings of Wonder before joining forces with Manley.

“One recently died of old age,” Johnson says, who currently has three birds at his home. “A lot of people think we get government funding, but we don’t. We don’t have enough money to pay anyone. I wouldn’t be paid anyway.”

One of SRC’s newest members, Courtney Miller, was introduced at the snowy owl release. Miller is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. She will serve as an assistant director for SRC and brings more traditional Native American practices and biofield tuning, a type of sound therapy, to the rehabilitation process.

So far, Miller has worked with about nine raptors using tuning forks and has had a positive response with the birds. “They go into an almost catatonic state,” she says. “They can’t heal if they are stressed out.”

During the owl release, she gave remarks and sang an Anishinaabe song using a turtle shell shaker before releasing the snowy owl into the wild.

Moving Forward

After the snowy owl event, Manley headed to Mancelona to pick up a barred owl that had been struck by a vehicle. “It seems like after every release, we get another bird,” Manley says.

The newest injured owl had damage to its eye, a concussion, and signs of trauma.

“I’m grateful to the kind gentleman who rescued him and brought him from Lewiston, but it’s heartbreaking to know that, like our snowy owl, this bird was struck by someone who didn’t stop to help,” Manley says.

“[It] was a sobering reminder that, alongside moments of celebration, there is still much work to be done.”

Meet the SRC Volunteers

The center’s volunteers are from various backgrounds who donate their time cleaning, providing medical treatment, training, fundraising, organizing, and feeding the birds…to name just a few tasks.

Mark Stevens
Age: 67
Occupation: Retired process and engineering manager for silicon optics
Volunteer service: Just under a year. Worked four years at Montana Raptor Center in Bozeman, Montana.
Role with SRC: Rehabilitation, training, prepping food, cleaning, helping with examinations
Favorite bird: Don’t have one. All birds are cool.

Rae Welch
Age: 54
Occupation: Artist/jewelry maker
Volunteer service: Since 2023
Role with SRC: I do a lot of cleaning, help with examinations, feeding, and I’m starting to learn the actual handling of the birds.
Favorite bird: That’s difficult to answer, because every one of them has a different story. The one who stands out for me was one of our male bald eagles. I felt such a connection with him.

Ann Bonessi
Age: 62
Occupation: Retired licensed veterinary technician
Volunteer service: Two years
Role with SRC: Rehabilitation, diagnostics, medical treatment, and diet preparation.
Favorite bird: Barred owl

Martha Redick
Age: 59
Occupation: Retired high school teacher
Volunteer service: Since October 2021
Role with SRC: I mainly help to care for the ambassador birds (Pearl & Tyia), which participate in our education programs.
Favorite bird: I am in awe of all the raptors we work with, but the broad-winged hawk holds a special place in my heart.

Tyler Franz
Age: 35
Occupation: Photographer
Volunteer service: Three months
Role with SRC: Photographer/visual storyteller
Favorite bird: Snowy owl