More Baby Owls
Some Barn Owls are having a second clutch this year. These five babies (yes, there are five owls in that pile of down) were evicted from their nest box near La Grande, OR. It is not known if one of the parents or some intruder pitched them onto the ground. Two had minor injuries. One has a wing fracture that will hopefully heal uneventfully. They will go to the hack site in the coming week to be placed in a nest box so they can be released. Below, interns Wendy and Nicole hydrate one of the owls.
Business Slowed A Bit and the Temperature Finally Dropped
There were just 23 admissions this past week, mainly raptors (19 out of 23), including the fledgling Kestrel above. There were also four Swainson’s Hawks. Unfortunately, two of the Swainson’s appear to have been shot. The first had damage to the left wrist joint preventing full extension of the wrist and normal flight.
Swainson’s Hawk 18-545
Although there is no sign of metal in the radiograph, the fractures and wounds in this adult, male Swainson’s Hawk are consistent with a gunshot injury. As more people switch to non-lead ammunition, identifying gunshot injuries becomes more challenging.
