Leonard J. Soucy, Jr. died on Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Len was an extraordinary man who made a major impact on both the wildlife of NJ and the attitudes of people living with wildlife. Among those in the know of things avian, especially raptors—birds of prey—Len was a giant.
PRLog - Jun. 19, 2014 - MILLINGTON, N.J. -- Len graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1949. He was an avid bowler, and an outstanding baseball player. He was offered a contract to play minor league baseball, but chose instead to pursue work as an engraver. Being good with his hands, he began his professional career as a machinist and tool and die maker for Precision Engraving in East Hanover, NJ. He served in the army during the Korean War, and was a drill instructor at Ft. Leonard Wood from 1953-54.
Len met Diane Dotterweich in a bowling alley. They married in 1956, and would remain together for the next 58 years.
One beautiful fall day in 1964, the same year son Chris was born, Len and Diane took a drive to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, in Kempton, PA, where they enjoyed the spectacle of broad-winged hawks in flight at one of their prime migratory spots. The Soucys had been inspired to visit Hawk Mountain Sanctuary by an article they read in Audubon Magazine.
The awesome sight of some 20,000 of the powerful birds in migration left a profound impression on all who were there, especially Len. He recalled thinking, “Oh my god, this is unbelievable.” They were befriended by other bird watchers who shared with them basic insights into identification of birds in flight, research that had been done on hawks, and banding. Banding is the technique of capturing a bird, placing a coded band safely around its leg, and releasing the bird back into the wild. The identification band makes possible studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, lifespan and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth. All things of which little was known about hawks in particular, and raptors in general, in the 1960’s.
Len began reading about raptors in his free time. He and Diane were living in Denville, Len continuing his work as an engraver. He had never intended to rehabilitate wild birds, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. In late 1967 or early 1968, they happened upon a red-tailed hawk that suffered a broken wing. They could find no veterinarians who took care of raptors, and no available resources for them to render care. Unable to fly, or hunt, or fend for itself, the couple took it upon themselves to try and help. The injury was beyond their ability to save the hawk, and it did not survive. But the desire to help injured birds did, and people who knew of the Soucy’s interest brought more sick and injured raptors to them for whatever care they could provide.
In 1968, Len and his young family purchased a home in Millington. Situated on 14 acres of land, on the border of The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the Soucys found themselves an extraordinary natural setting in which to live.
As Len’s knowledge of birds of prey grew, so did his concerns for their well being. Len opposed the anti-predator attitudes of the time. “You may not like bugs,” he once said, “You may not like snakes, you may not like hawks. But there’s a reason they’re here, a biological reason. Not to please you.” He was increasingly determined to learn more about raptors, and share that knowledge with whoever would listen. He and Diane would also continue to help heal injured raptors as best they could, although neither they nor anybody had much knowledge of how to provide medical care for wild birds.
“It was trial and error,” Diane said. “In the beginning, we were unsuccessful more times than we were successful.” But they did not stop trying.
The couple took it upon themselves to learn how to treat and manage birds in distress, bringing them into their home. Progress was gradual. They used whatever means and resources they could muster. After having a barn owl live upstairs in the bathroom for a year, Diane proclaimed, “Enough!” That is when they began to build outdoor facilities.
Len sought out more information about hawk banding. The US Fish & Wildlife Service began an official banding project in 1970. Len obtained a license with a fellow raptor enthusiast and established a station to capture, band and release raptors in the Kittatinny Mountain area of northern NJ. This further established his bona fides.
“Things grew after that,” explains Chris, “as he really developed a reputation in both the scientific community and in the neighborhood in general as someone who was very knowledgeable about birds. His participation in the raptor banding project, with a legitimate scientific connection to state and federal wildlife agencies, helped people see him as something more than just guy with some songbirds in his laundry room.” As his reputation grew, so did the number of birds being brought for care.
He continued to work as an engraver, gradually cutting back to part-time as the work with raptors increased. As people became aware of Len’s activities with birds, a few volunteered to help. His knowledge and enthusiasm was infectious, and over the next decade birds, volunteers, cages, and small buildings sprouted up on the Millington property.
By the end of the 1970’s, other wild birds in addition to raptors were being brought for care. Hundreds were being admitted each year, and the demands for facilities, food, medicine and supplies grew. The entire effort was being funded by Len and Diane. By the early 1980’s, the operation grew so large and expensive they could no longer afford to finance it alone. In 1982 The Raptor Trust was formally named and incorporated as a nonprofit. The following year the Trust was granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service, allowing for the solicitation of funds from foundations, corporations and private donors. An on-site education center was established on the grounds in 1989.
Over the next decade Len became self-employed, moving his engraving equipment into a shed on the property so he could work from home. This continued into the early 1990’s, when the surge in birds being treated forced him to dedicate his energies full-time to the Trust. Ever eager to learn, Len’s love of the outdoors led him to also becoming a passionate fisherman, and with his skilled hands, an expert rock cutter and jewelry maker. In time he developed such a beautiful collection of rocks and minerals that it now occupies its own building with colorful slices of richly textured minerals and handcrafted jewelry on display, and often given as gifts.
The numbers of birds admitted, rehabilitated and released back into the wild flourished throughout the 1990’s and into the 21st century. The Raptor Trust today is a large, well-maintained complex that includes a medical infirmary, an education building, a gift shop, some 70 exterior cages and aviaries of varying sizes comprising over 130,000 cubic feet of space. To date, some 90,000 wild birds have been treated at the Trust. Between 3,500 and 4,000 birds are taken in annually. Half have been successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wild. So, too, has the population of raptors in permanent residence at the Trust grown. More than 50 unreleaseable raptors now live in aviaries on site, on display for visitors to learn about, and experience from a uniquely close vantage point.
Len’s passion for teaching about raptors and explaining their vital role in our ecology has led to his publication of dozens of scientific papers, as well as a book, New Jersey’s Owls. His work earned him an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Drew University in 1988. In his typical blunt fashion, Len said, “Didn’t change my behavior a hell of a lot, quite honestly, to be ‘Doctor.’ But it’s kind of a nice thing to look back on. Some people thought what we do is important.” He recently completed a new book, New Jersey’s Hawks, which will be released posthumously.
The incredible reach that is now achieved by The Raptor Trust, born out of one man’s interest and passion for birds of prey, is disproportionate to the size of the enterprise. The total number of sick or injured animals handled in 2013 in the state of NJ by licensed rehabilitators was 15,429. Of those, 7,491 were birds. The Raptor Trust handled 3,509 wild birds in distress. That is, 47% of all birds brought in for rehabilitation in the entire state were handled by The Raptor Trust. And of all sick or injured wildlife in the state, the Trust handled 23%. These statistics are not an anomaly; they are the average for NJ over the past ten years.
Len has been “a force of nature,” according to Lauren Butcher, former education director at the Trust. “This is a field that requires that kind of commitment…It’s not a job, it’s a way of life.” That is how Len chose to live, and the legacy he has left us all has made the world a better place.
Memorial services will be held on Saturday, June 28th, 1:00pm, at the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts on the campus of Drew University.
In honor of this lifetime of work toward the protection and preservation of all things wild, especially birds, and the educational opportunities he labored to present to us all, we have established the Leonard J. Soucy Jr. Memorial Fund for projects that would be meaningful to him. His commitment to a thriving avian population will live on, with special support for new ideas and approaches from the Memorial Fund. Donations to the fund can be directed to The Len Soucy Memorial Fund, c/o The Raptor Trust, 1390 White Bridge Rd., Millington, NJ 07946
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New Jersey’s Wildlife Loses a Lifetime Advocate
June 19, 2014 at 09:38 AM EDT
