Four downy Great Horned Owls were placed in hack boxes (large dog crates with the doors covered with corrugated plastic). The owls will be fed in the boxes for about one week. Then the doors will be removed. They will fledge in a week or so and return to the boxes for food until they are proficient at catching their own, usually sometime this fall.

Bald Eagle 25-069 has been moved to the large flight pen. She immediately started flapping her wings, but took a couple of days of exercise to get airborne. Her progress is slow, but she is improving each day. We are cautiously optimistic she will be releasable.

Golden Eagle 25-094 was found near Enterprise and is thought to have been struck by a vehicle. She had a large laceration on the underside of her left wing and a fractured left ulna. I was hoping closing the wound and immobilizing the fracture would be sufficient for healing, but it looks like we will also need to apply a body wrap to support the wing.

We also had visitors, including three classes of second graders from Irrigon on their annual field trip to BMW. They learned about birds of prey, dissected owl pellets and played the migration game. The game simulates some of the obstacles birds must navigate during spring and fall migration, including windows, power lines, toxic water, wind turbines and cars.

An additional 10 nestling Barn Owls and 5 eggs came from hay stacks that were being moved this past week, bringing the total to 10 owlets in two cages, 10 owlets in two brooders, and three eggs and one hatchling in the incubator who hatched today. Happy birthday little guy!

All these baby owls have got us thinking about a new game, Barn Owl Poker. We’re still working out the rules, but three eggs hatched in the incubator trumps three eggs hatched by momma owl. After all, we need special technology, mom comes equipped for the job! 

Two batches of Barn Owls and eggs, from two loads of hay, and two more young Great Horned Owls were admitted this past week. As soon as we receive negative avian influenza test results for the Great Horned Owls, they will go to our Great Horned Owl hack site in preparation for release.

The Barn Owls will be go out to one of our flight pens that has been converted to a Barn Owl hack site once they are eating whole mice in about a month. Four are pictured below.

Bald Eagle 25-069 was found near Enterprise unable to fly, likely struck by a vehicle. She was bruised and dehydrated, but we saw no fractures on her x-rays. We did find a brood patch, indicating she was either incubating eggs or nestlings. She is responding well to supportive care. Assuming her avian influenza test is negative, we will move her out to a flight pen next week and see how she flys after being rehydrated. We hope to return her to her family ASAP.

Two adult owls were admitted with right wing fractures that could not be repaired. Radiographs of Great Horned Owl 25-067 and Barn Owl 25-068 are below.

A newly hatched Barn Owl…

The Great Horned Owlets are growing like weeds, or more accurately, like baby birds. GHOW 25-045 weighed 309 g on admission 13 days ago and now weighs 570 g today, 4/13. GHOW 25-046 weighed 365 g on admission and now weighs 598 g. Their adult weights will be somewhere around 1000 g, depending on if they are male or female. Time will tell! It is hard to see, but there is a hint of green marker on 25-046 who is on the right below.

We are enjoying the slow days as we prepare for baby season to arrive in full force. Last night Tricia captured this photo of the full moon.

This morning she caught Daryl enjoying the sunshine.

March 31 was the official start of the 2025 Baby Season with the admission of two nestling Great Horned Owls, GHOW 25-0045 and GHOW 25-046, who fell from a nest on a farm northeast of Pendleton. The nest was too high to safely access. The owlets will be raised using a method called hacking which simulates the care provided by the parents. As is typical of young raptors, the nestlings are different sizes. 

Great Horned Owls usually lay 3 or 4 eggs with 2 or 3 days between each egg. They start incubating the eggs as soon as the first one is laid, so it is the first egg to hatch.  Owlet 25-045 (aka Blank) weighed 309 grams on admission. Owlet 25-046 (aka Green) weighed 365 grams.

Six days later on 4/6/25 Blank weighed 570 g and Green weighed 598 g. Both have hearty appetites and are eating whole mice on their own!

Radiographs of young birds or mammals can be challenging to evaluate because the bones have not fully developed, especially at the joints. Below are the initial x-rays of Blank and Green respectively. Both birds appear to be uninjured. We will take followup x-rays before they go to the hack site, just to make sure we don’t miss an injury.

Tricia and intern Clare traveled east to Elgin and Lostine and released American Kestrel 25-017 and Western Screech Owl 25-029.

The kestrel had been found with its left wing caught in a fence, bruised but not broken!

The owl had a fractured right ulna. Both birds seemed happy to be back home!