The admission this past week of 9 more Barn Owls from three hay stacks that were moved brought our 2024 total to 52 young owls. The former Vulture pen has been converted into a very large Barn Owl hack box were the owlets can be allowed to fledge. Food will be provided until they have perfected their flying skills and are proficient hunters.
One Great Horned Owl fledgling was returned to his family after testing negative for avian influenza. Three have been moved to the GHOW hack site to prepare for release. Sadly they were brought to BMW because their parents were both shot and killed.
Another owlet is in quarantine until she can be tested for avian influenza on Monday.
Adult Cooper’s Hawk 24-136 was admitted with two fractures in the left ulna. There is also damage in the wrist and elbow. Although the prognosis is guarded, the hawk is eagerly eating his daily ration of quail so we will see if immobilization of the wing, anti-inflammatories and tincture of time will work.
The high light of this past week was a spectacular display of the Northern Lights Friday night. The night sky was ablaze with color.
Moving Gyrfalcon Persimmon and Great Horned Owl Sage into their permanent homes was a major accomplishment this week. All the Education Birds are now housed in the new Education Building. Each has spacious accommodations with their specific needs taken into consideration. Persimmon wasted no time in enjoying his breakfast of quail.
Osprey 24-078 was found on a road near La Grande and transported to Pendleton by ODFW. An exam and radiographs revealed a shattered clavicle. While our x-ray machine is a highly valued piece of equipment, it is installed in such a way that its orientation cannot be changed. Below are two radiographs of the Osprey. The first view is a dorsal-ventral view with the bird on his back on the table. The second view is an H-view with the bird elevated at a 45 degree angle to the table.
The H-view makes it easier to visualize both the clavicle and the coracoid. It shows that there is a mid shaft fracture of the clavicle and the end that articulates with the coracoid is shattered. You can see part of the stainless steel bowl we used to position the osprey at the bottom edge of the x-ray. The damage to the shoulder was too extensive to repair and the bird was euthanized.
The tree housing 6 nestling American Kestrels blew down this past week. The tiny falcons are all uninjured and have quickly learned to eat off a plate.they will be moved to a hack box, allowing them to fledge at their normal times. It is typical to see raptor nestlings of different sizes. The female starts incubating her eggs as soon as the first one is laid. There are usually two or three days between each egg so the babies hatch out every two or three days. This gives the older siblings an advantage if there is not enough prey/food available. They will out compete the younger birds, but at least some of them will survive to fledge. These 6 babies are eating 14 mice per day!
American Kestrel Yoda likes her new home too. Below, she flies between intern Harini and Tricia…
We had a busy week, admitting 13 more Barn Owls who were displaced when their homes/haystacks were moved to make room for the next cutting of hay. That brings our total to 27 barn owls to be hacked out. These owls can easily each consume six or more mice per night. Barn owls provide amazing, free!, rodent control to the agricultural community. Placing a few nest boxes near trees that are adjacent to open fields can encourage these cavity nesting predators to take up residency.
We know that lead is a toxic material. We measure it in units of micrograms per deciliter of blood. A µg is equivalent to a millionth of a gram. A deciliter is a tenth of a liter of blood. Twenty µg/dl of lead is considered to be a toxic amount. At BMW we chelate to remove the lead when it is 10 µg/dl or higher. Bald Eagle 23-060 was admitted with a lead level of 217 µg/dl, a critically high amount of lead.
Fortunately he has responded well to chelation and is already eating food on his own. We chelate for 4 days and then stop three days and check the lead level. The eagle will likely need at least two more courses of chelation. Then he will be moved outside to a flight pen to begin reconditioning for release. That often takes months. The effects of lead are long-term and can permanently affect decision making and coordination, including the ability to find food and fly.
Rehabilitated Raptor Research Webinar
On May 7 there will be a webinar providing an overview of the research evaluating the post release success of rehabilitated raptors. In most species the data clearly demonstrates there are ecological benefits to their release. This is the first time anyone has taken a scientific look at the effects of raptor rehabilitation!
Common Poorwill 24-075
We received a call regarding an “owl” perched on a window sill behind a large display at a local business. I arrived to find a Common Poorwill, whose cryptic color looks very owl-like. There was only a few inches between the bird and the display. A long-handled net was needed to remove the bird. An exam found no injuries. After a quick test flight the small arial insectivore was released.
