Northern Harrier 25-358 was released at Ladd Marsh one month after being admitted with a fractured ulna. Harriers, also called Marsh Hawks, are coursers, flying over open areas looking for prey. The Harrier wasted no time getting back in the air! Below are photos taken at the time of admission and at release.

The clinic currently is an emaciation ward. Long-eared Owl 25-415 seems to be well on the way to recovery. The medium-sized owl weighed 164 grams at admission. Average weight for male and female owls are 245g and 279g respectively. The owl weighed 207g Sunday morning and is now able to eat whole mice.

Fledgling Swainson 25-431 is not out of the woods yet, but for a week he has beaten the odds. He weighed just 387 grams at admission. The average weight for a male Swainson’s Hawk is 908 grams which means he is more than 50% underweight. He is small, so perhaps his normal weight is 700g. In addition to being emaciated, he was severely dehydrated and anemic. His packed cell volume was 4.5. That is the percentage of the blood consisting of red blood cells. A normal value for a young hawk would be in the mid to upper 30’s. 

A bird this thin cannot digest typical prey items like mice. He is being tube-fed a liquid emaciation diet. We will soon add a small amount of solid food. We must go slowly to allow his digestive tract time to start functioning again. It is so hard to be patient!

Earlier today, Sunday, Golden Eagle 25-439 was admitted. During the initial exam we noticed air under the skin in the wings and neck. This is usually caused by a ruptured air sac. X-rays showed no broken bones. The eagle was found near a road so it is likely the air sac(s)  ruptured when it was struck by a vehicle. Fortunately, air sacs generally heal with time. The eagle weighed just 2.09 kg or just over 4 1/2 pounds. Average weight for a male Golden Eagle is 8 1/2 pounds. 

As I finish this newsletter, the eagle is standing in the cage.  We are hopeful.