Baby Season Kicks Into High Gear
Baby season started out with mostly raptors: Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls. The species list is growing to include Red-tailed Hawk, Kestrel, Screech Owl, Robin, Dove, House Finch, Magpie, Crow and Raven. A few have been injured: a Robin with a broken leg that is splinted, a Raven with a shoulder injury, a Screech Owl with eye injuries and a Great Horned Owl that appears to be blind.
Two Screech Owls had their nest tree cut down - spring is a terrible time to prune or remove trees! Volunteer Toni Faust got a great shot of the owlets blinking, with their third eyelids (nictitating membrane) partiallly closed. Birds, like dogs and cats, have a third eyelid that helps clean and lubricate the eye.
A fledgling Crow was being harassed by children. Fortunately it was rescued by another child with more sense! Some babies were blown from nests during wind storms. Several fledglings were kidnapped by well-meaning individuals who didn’t realize the birids were just learning to fly. Please call before you rescue so we can help you determine if the birds need human intervention (other than keeping your dog or at confined).
The number of Barn Owls displaced when haystacks are moved has slowed significantly. The total has reached 163. Many have fledged, so there is plenty of room in nest boxes for the incoming owls. Daily mouse consumption at the hack site is at 600. Hopefully that number will soon be dropping.
Barn Swallow - out of 40 new arrivals this past week, the Barn Swallow was the only adult.
Awesome Interns
Shakira and Jean are putting in very long days, keeping up with intake exams, treatments, baby bird feedings, cleaning and a multitude of other tasks.
Equally Awesome Volunteers
BMW volunteers also go above and beyond the call of duty, logging hundreds of miles this week. Birds were transported from Yakima, Ellensburg, Soap Lake, Moses Lake, Prosser, the Tri-Cities, Mesa, Touchet, Walla Walla, and Umatilla. The Tribal Bus Service was also busy helping transport.
