Kate Davis Biography

Kate Davis, Executive Director of Raptors of the Rockies has been caring for wild animals since her start at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1973. She relocated to Montana in 1978 and received a degree in zoology with honors from the U of M.

The educational program began after a move to a ranch east of Missoula in 1988. With four federal permits (Rehab, Education, Eagle Exhibition, Falconry), she currently keeps 18 permanently injured and falconry raptors at the Raptor Ranch on the banks of the Bitterroot River. All new facilities were constructed in 2001 with the birds` comfort and safety the number one concern. Program number up to 80 a year, and favorites range from the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl, iPod, to Max the Golden Eagle, now twenty-three years old. Over one hundred fifteen thousand children and adults in Montana and Idaho have met these birds over the years, with 1400 appearances and visits to 122 schools.

The major highlight has been that Raptors of the Rockies hosted the international Raptor Research Foundation Conference in 2008. Two hundred attendees from around the world enjoyed a week dedicated to John and Frank Craighead, with the theme "The Legacy Lives On."

At the same time she organized the "Birds And Art Show" at the Monte Dolack Gallery with 20 artists in many mediums. Kate is also an artist, and resident raptors are the source for her depictions in drawings, etchings, monotype prints, paintings, and welded steel sculptures. Metal birds abound in the yard and house. Her first book for Mountain Press Publishing, Raptors of the Rockies came out in 2002, and her second, Falcons of North America hit the stands in late 2008, to excellent reviews. Kate wrote the book and supplied 40 of the 200 photographs as well as the pen and ink illustrations and range maps. The new book Raptors of the West Captured in Photographs is a collaboration with falcon book photographers Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop. It features 430 images of 45 raptor species, presented by the habitats in which they live. It won the National Outdoor Book Award for Design and Artistic Merit, and the grand prize Montana Book Award 2011. Her new book on a Bald Eagle nest that fledged four young (!) will be out in early 2013, filled with 140 of her photos.

In addition, Kate served as Chair of the Education Committee for the Raptor Research Foundation for four years, and is currently Conference Chair. She is also a volunteer for the Montana Peregrine Institute, involved in monitoring nests and productivity in the area. Her articles and photographs have appeared in many local and national publications, including the cover shot for the Peregrine Fund Annual Report and 2012 calendar.

With Raptors of the Rockies, Kate continues her educational programs, newsletters, cards, and now a blog and YouTube videos on the website, www.raptorsoftherockies.org.