After a busy week, Tricia and interns Sarah and April set up the cages in the Songbird Room in the new clinic and moved the birds. Finally, there are no birds in boxes!
The other cage room, the Raptor Room, is currently unoccupied.
The BMW Board and Staff are grateful to everyone who has helped make the new clinic a reality. Words do not adequately express how gratefulI I am that this long-term goal is nearing completion. Thank You!!!
A Notice for Members:
There will be a special meeting on Saturday, July 25 at 10 am. This meeting is being called to discuss revisions to BMW’s articles of incorporation. All members have the right to see and approve changes in the articles of incorporation. Here is the zoom link for the meeting:
Blue Mountain Wildlife is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Today, June 21, 2026 is Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere, the longest day and shortest night of the year, and the official start of summer. That is reason enough for many to celebrate. At BMW we are celebrating the installation of walls in the new clinic. The exam room (below) is now enclosed. At 12’ by 25’ it is 300 square feet in size, nearly four times the size of the 8’ x 10’ shed we are currently working in. The doors at the end of the room lead to cage rooms. There is still plenty of work to do before we can move in: plumbing, electricity and cabinets, but there is daily progress.
The first Cooper’s Hawk nestling of baby season was admitted this past week. It fell from its nest at a busy golf course. It seems to be uninjured. We will attempt to return it to its family close to its normal fledging time.
The tiniest patient of the week was Anna’s Hummingbird 26-228. It is challenging to examine and take good quality x-rays of a bird that weighs 4 grams (1/7th of an ounce), but we always try. We could see damage in the right shoulder and neck. The prognosis for recovery was poor and the bird was euthanized.
Below is the view as you enter the reception room of the new clinic. Once the remaining wall panels, doors and office furniture are installed it will look like a wildlife clinic!
A Notice for Members:
There will be a special meeting on Saturday, July 25 at 10 am. This meeting is being called to discuss revisions to BMW’s articles of incorporation. All members have the right to see and approve changes in the articles of incorporation. Here is the zoom link for the meeting:
We started the week with three Barn Owls suffering from metabolic bone disease, a gunshot Swainson’s Hawk and a Great Gray Owl who had been struck by a vehicle. The week ended on a high note with the banding of 7 American Kestrels and the release of a Swainson’s Hawk.
Three Barn Owls were admitted who had been fed chicken for several days resulting in metabolic bone disease from a lack calcium in their diet. Barn Owls 26-185 and 26-186 had multiple fractures and were euthanized. The damage to Barn Owl 26-187 is more subtle. He is being fed whole mice and supplemented with calcium. I am not very optimistic that we will be successful, but we are trying. Below are x-rays of the three owls.
An x-ray left no doubt that Swainson’s Hawk 26-189 had been shot. The damage to the right tibiotarsus was too extensive to repair and the hawk was euthanized.
Great Gray Owl 26-193 was found in a road near Wallowa. She has a head injury, but seems to be feeling much better after a few days of supportive care. The vision in her right eye needs to be more fully evaluated, but she is eating 9 or 10 mice per day, so has a good appetite!
Seven American Kestrels were banded and moved outside to a hack site. They will soon be released.
The week ended with the release of Swainson’s Hawk 25-443 who had been over-wintered because of her poor feather condition at the time of admission. We suspect her feathers were damaged by shotgun pellets. This spring she molted most of the broken feathers. The new feathers were not completely grown in, but her flight ability was much improved. She will be ready to migrate to Argentina this fall with a full complement of feathers.
The week started with the admission of 5 baby Barn Owls and an egg which soon became 6 baby owls! There really are 6 owls in the second photo.
Then Tricia and interns Sofie and Sarah helped band 14 Barn Owls. Now all 30 young owls in the giant hack box, formerly Kathy’s Pen, are ready for the door to be opened so they can start exploring and developing their hunting skills. We will keep feeding them until they disperse, usually around September.
Tricia opened the Western Screech Owl box to release one more owl. Five screech owls have already been released. She also opened the Great Horned Owl hack box, releasing two owls for a total of three great horned owls owls this year.
A Common Nighthawk from Ione was admitted this week. Its left wing was badly damaged. Euthanasia was the only humane option.
On a more positive note, we welcomed students from Ione. They had a busy day visiting Tamastslikt Cultural Institute and Blue Mountain Wildlife.
We ended the week by by releasing young Red-tailed Hawk 25-102 from a hack box. She wasted no time taking flight after Sarah opened the door! If you look closely at the second photo you can see the band on her right leg. All raptors are banded before release.
