Barn Owl 16-808, aka Jimmy Hoffa Update
Six days after admission, Barn Owl Jimmy Hoffa was returned to Hanford for release. She quickly recovered from being partially buried in a load of gravel and nearly becoming concrete! The Hanford biologists who released her will send pictures for next week’s Journal.
Marshmallow is Released
The Pendleton Middle School Cross Country team found an injured Brewer’s Blackbird during practice on September 28. They named her Marshmallow and were very excited to release her this past Monday. You have to look closely. She’s about a foot from the box.
Another Gunshot Hawk
This is the 28th gunshot bird (the 18th raptor) that BMW has documented in 2016. We’re not certain what all happened to this Red-tailed Hawk. She has 3 shotgun pellets in her body, a partially healed fracture in the right ulna, is 30% underweight, has damage in both eyes and is blind. She was found along a road, so in addition to being shot, she may have been hit by a car.
A good Samaritan found her and took her to Animal Clinic East in Walla Walla where she was examined and treated before being transferred to BMW. We are very grateful to the doctors and staff at Animal Clinic East for their donation of time, talent and finances to care for injured birds and support Blue Mountain Wildlife.
Northern Flicker hybrid
We usually see the red form of Northern Flickers in the west. The yellow form is found in the east. The two forms will hybridize and have orange feathers. That appears to be the case with this flicker that was found in Sunnyside, WA and taken to The Pet Health Clinic.
We are also very grateful to The Pet Health Clinic in Sunnyside for providing emergency care for injured birds and for Veterinary Technician Vanessa’s willingness to transport birds to Benton City. BMW’s service area is so large that most birds travel at least 75 miles to receive care. It takes an awesome network of dedicated volunteers to accomplish that!
