The Boise State Raptor Research Center is a student-centered research community dedicated to advancing the study and conservation of birds of prey and their ecosystems. Our team of students, faculty, staff and community partners works to better understand raptor behavior, migration, and habitat needs through field research, education, and hands-on training.

By supporting our work, you are directly investing in the next generation of scientists and conservation leaders. Funds raised go toward providing students with opportunities to study raptors and their habitats in real-world settings?building the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to protect these remarkable species. Together, we can ensure a future where raptors continue to thrive in healthy environments.

This shirt was designed by MS Raptor Biology student Emma Regnier (@falcofous) and features one of our most iconic study sites: the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Idaho, USA. Renowned worldwide for its exceptional density of nesting raptors and vibrant ecosystem, this landscape serves as a living laboratory for our program. Here, students conduct cutting-edge research on predator?prey interactions, movement ecology, genomics, and more. It is a place where science, education, and conservation come together?providing invaluable hands-on experience that prepares the next generation of raptor biologists and conservationists.

Read below to learn more about some of our amazing students and their work:

Zoe Bonerbo's work examines the behavioral variation among Prairie Falcons that buffers them against environmental change and contributes to their survival in extreme desert ecosystems. Zoe examines how variation is expressed in movement patterns, such as resource selection and home range size, and how variation in diet and nest initiation timing affects nestling survival. This work will shed light an understudied raptor species native to grasslands and deserts in North America

Emma Regnier studies the biodiversity of Golden Eagle nests. Golden Eagles build enormous nests on cliffs, creating unique microhabitats and introducing nutrients in the form of prey provisioning and excrement to an otherwise nutrient-poor ecosystem. Sampling the trace eDNA, or environmental DNA, left behind in a nest by insects will allow Emma to describe the arthropod community present in eagle nests and determine how eagle nest use and ectoparasite treatments might impact other cliff-dwelling organisms