Stephanie Estrella is founder and operator of Raindancer Wild Bird Rescue. This rehabilitation facility is located in Olympia and handles 200-300 raptors and corvids per year. For the past eight years, she has cared for about five to thirty orphaned, sick, or injured birds at a time, rehabilitating and releasing those that she can and placing some birds that cannot be released into educational programs and presentations.
In addition to her day job as a natural resources scientist in the Environmental Assessment Program of the Washington Department of Ecology, she does nearly all of the rehab work caring for the birds herself. The Raindancer Wild Bird Rescue facility includes a half dozen substantial enclosures for birds undergoing rehab plus two more for non-releasable birds used for educational outreach. These structures were largely financed by grants from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife or other groups, but mostly constructed by Stephanie and her husband. The Raindancer facility goes beyond requirements to provide excellent care for injured raptors and corvids.
Holder of a B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Science, Stephanie serves on the board of the Washington Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, and is a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Association and the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. She continues to further her wildlife rehabilitation education through workshops, symposiums, and collaboration with other rehabilitators. We are happy to present this year’s Jack Davis Conservationist of the Year Award to Stephanie Estrella.
