SORCO is a registered B.C. society dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of injured birds of prey. BOCS re-establishes self-sustaining populations of Burrowing Owls in B.C. Find out more.
TLC now holds a conservation covenant on the property protecting it as a bird rehabilitation site.
For over 20 years, dedicated volunteers at the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls (SORCO) have been helping injured and orphaned birds of prey return to the wild. Although their name says Owls, SORCO also cares for Eagles, Hawks, Vultures, Falcons, and Osprey as well. Located just north of Oliver, in the Okanagan Valley, SORCO is the only clinic and rehabiliation centre for birds of prey serving the southern interior of British Columbia.
The future of SORCO had been uncertain. Located at the Eagle Bluff property, originally owned by the Kleins, SORCO had invested a tremendous amount of financial and volunteer resources into their facilities, including the construction of a new building which houses the flight cages. Unfortunately it became necessary that the land be sold. Before listing the property on the open market, a move that would most certainly result in the closure of the centre, the Kleins approached The Land Conservancy for help.
TLC and the Kleins worked out a deal that where TLC purchased and protected the Eagle Bluff property, and provided SORCO with a long-term lease, enabling SORCO to continue with their important work.
In January 2014, Jim Wyse, one of SORCO’s neighbours, purchased the property from TLC with a covenant on title held by TLC to ensure the protection of the property as a bird rehabilitation site and transferred the property to the joint tenants, SORCO and the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of B.C. Wyse, Board Chairman and founder of the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, is a member of the Board of BOCS and previous director of SORCO.
