Great Horned Owl 18-296
The phone rang at 5:30 Tuesday morning. A man out for his morning run had spotted a great horned owl caught in a barbed-wire fence. They were only about 15 minutes away. I collected a few tools I thought might be handy and headed down the road.
It wasn’t hard to get the fledgling owl out of the fence. The only feathers caught on the barbs were some long downy feathers in the abdominal area. I caught a glimpse of blood, however, as I put the bird in a box.
Closer inspection, with the owl under anesthesia, revealed a large u-shaped tear in the skin and under-lying tissues. After flushing with large amounts of fluids, we were able to close up the holes and use staples to close the skin. It took an hour for the entire procedure, but the owl was on her feet, glaring at us as soon as she went into a cage. She is eating ravenously and acting like the fierce Great Horned Owl she is. We are hoping for a quick recovery so she can rejoin her family.
Red-tailed Hawk Releases
Four more Red-tailed Hawks, for a total of eight, were released from hack boxes this week. It has been fun watching them practice their soaring skills as they circle overhead. Winnie pre-positioned a GoPro camera to capture this shot.
Great Gray Owl Nestling 18-240
We (finally) realized the nestling owl dropped off at the Baker City ODFW office was a Great Gray Owl - oops! Fortunately, Spirit, long-time BMW resident, didn’t miss a beat when we substituted the one egg she had laid, with a nearly grown baby. She is taking her parenting duties very seriously. We are now trying to find a Great Gray Owl family to foster the youngster into.
Red-tailed Hawk 18-308
It wasn’t casually obvious that 18-308 had been shot until we took a radiograph. She has two broken wings and damage to her pelvis. She was found near Toppenish, WA. Her ulna fractures will likely heal, but only time will tell if she will have full range of motion in her wrists.
American Kestrel 18-311
Likewise, it was not apparent what caused 18-311’s broken leg, until we took a radiograph. There was a pellet lodged next to the Kestrel’s spine. A second pellet caused the leg fractures. The injuries were several days old. The damage to the leg could not be repaired and the kestrel was euthanized. He had been found in a yard in Selah, WA. One gunshot bird in a week is too many. Two in two days is totally disgusting.
Sharp-shinned Hawk 18-080 Released
The week ended on a much better note. We banded our first Sharp-shinned Hawk, a female who had been hit by a car on April 3, 2018, and then volunteers Kennie and Janie released her near where she was found. Janie shared the release photo. BMW volunteers are awesome!
Thank You Lily
Long-time BMW volunteer Lily is also helping out this summer. Lily is a newly minted Pendleton High School graduate. She has been volunteering since her middle school days. Later this summer she will begin studies at CalPoly in San Luis Obispo, majoring in biomedical engineering. Congratulations Lily!
