A nestling snowy owl born at the Raptor Trust in 1994. A red-tailed hawk is released after successful rehabilitation. Photos courtesy of Len Soucy/The Raptor Trust

The Raptor Trust, Millington, New Jersey The Raptor Trust is one of the largest, privately funded wild bird rehabilitation centers in the United States. The Trust is located on 16 acres of woods and meadows adjacent to the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It began as a backyard mom-and-pop operation in 1968, and now includes an animal hospital, an education building, and 70 outside cages and aviaries that can house several hundred birds. Raptors -- which are various birds of prey such as hawks, falcons, eagles, and owls -- play an essential role in nature. Besides their biological importance, they are also beautiful and mysterious creatures and have long fascinated humans. The goal of the Trust is to return healthy birds to the wild, where they belong. In the last 10 years, the Trust has admitted 25,000 injured birds of all kinds, half of which were released back to the wild. In 1997, it cared for 225 raptors of 16 different species. Many of these birds were injured in collisions with cars, windows, buildings, and wires, although some had been illegally shot. More than half of these raptors have been released, and several dozen more may soon be returned to the wild. Ten raptor species are considered to be endangered or threatened in New Jersey, and 39 individuals from nine of these species were cared for in 1997. 1 of 2