COLLIN COUNTY, Texas -- A group in Collin County that started a non-profit to help the area's wild birds of prey got to see the fruits of their labor Wednesday.
The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center's services are already in high demand, according to Erich Neupert.
"We've treated about 300 birds in less than a year," Neupert said.
Neupert leads the non-profit and a team of volunteers just outside Plano. The team rescues and rehabilitates injured hawks and eagles in the area.
"We're seeing more injuries because we have more people. North Texas' expansion and the wilderness are colliding," Neupert said.
On Wednesday, Neupert and his team released a young red-tailed hawk back into the wild. The bird was found injured along the highway in July. The Raptor Center team believes it was hit by a car and left for dead.
"It was in pretty bad shape when it got here," Neupert said.
The bird was released in one of Plano's nature preservers, a North Texas community boasting more park acreage than Central Park.
"There is a park in every neighborhood, and the city was designed with that in mind," said City of Plano spokesperson Steve Stoler.
Neupert says as North Texas continues to grow, his services will be needed more and more. He plans on growing Blackland Raptor Center to one of the largest in the United States.
