Be a part of 2026 with Blue Mountain Wildlife by attending our Membership Meeting…Open to everyone who supports our mission and local wildlife.
Annual Membership Meeting will be on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 11:00 am. A Zoom link for the meeting will be posted on the BMW website the week of the meeting.
Hope to see you there!
Thank you to all who have made year-end donations to Blue Mountain Wildlife. Your gifts will help us care for wildlife in 2026. Special thanks to those who have donated online through the Valley Giving Guide allowing 100% of your donation to go to BMW along with matching funds.
As suspected, the Red-tailed Hawk who died last week shortly after admission, tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. The only other admissions where Western Screech Owl 25-530 and Great Blue Heron 25-531. Both had non-repairable injuries and were euthanized. The heron was not showing symptoms of HPAI, but because they are a high risk species for the virus, it will be tested.
Northern Pygmy Owl 25-524, admitted with a dislocated scapula, has made a complete recovery and will be returned to La Grande for release. These tiny diurnal owls hunt small birds during the day.
Thank you again to all who have helped BMW prepare for 2026 with a year-end donation. You can donate through the Valley Giving Guide until December 31st on Blue Mountain Wildlife’s donation page: Blue Mountain Wildlife I know we will accomplish great things with you by our side!
Red-tailed Hawk 25-529, found near Boardman was the only admission during the past week. The hawk died within minutes of its arrival. We will test to confirm, but Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is likely the cause of death. Due to their willingness to scavenge (as many raptors are) Red-tails are high risk for the disease.
Red-tailed Hawk 25-525, admitted on November 24, tested positive for HPAI and also came from Boardman. This strain of avian influenza is incredibly challenging for the wildlife rehab community.
Fundraising, while not my favorite job, keeps the lights on, the shelves and freezers stocked and allows Blue Mountain Wildlife’s awesome staff to be paid! The annual December Letter went out this week. If you receive the weekly journal, it was delivered to your inbox. Thank you to all who have already renewed your membership or made a year-end gift. We appreciate your support! Click here to visit the Valley Giving Guide for Year-end Giving through Dec. 31, 2025. 100% of your donation will come to BMW along with matching funds!
I hope you were able to enjoy time with family and friends over the Thanksgiving weekend. During this time of Thanksgiving, the BMW Team is especially grateful for your support. You helped us care for hundreds of native wildlife and give hundreds of students and families the opportunity to engage with our ambassador birds. You are essential in accomplishing our mission of helping people live in harmony with the natural world.
As we look to the future, we invite you to help us meet the challenges and opportunities of 2026. We are again partnering with the Valley Giving Guide, a year-end fundraising platform. It is an online donation page that will be available from December 2nd, Giving Tuesday, until December 31st. We receive 100% of each donation! All online donations will count towards matching funds that VGG is raising for this event. Here is a link to Blue Mountain Wildlife’s donation page: Blue Mountain Wildlife Donate if you can and share that you donate on your social media! Thank you so much for your support!
The old clinic is gone! A small, but mighty remote controlled machine maneuvered the two halves of the double-wide so they could be prepped for the trip to Finley Butte Landfill where the metal will be recycled.
Winnie recruited her friend Dan to take a drone shot of the empty space and future location of the new clinic. Thank you Dan and Winnie!
There were just two admissions this past week. Ring-billed Gull 25-523 had a broken leg and a back injury. The prognosis for recovery was poor and gulls are high risk species for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The bird was euthanized.
We are more hopeful for Northern Pygmy Owl 25-524. At 67 grams, it is one of the tiniest raptors that we see. She(?) has a droopy right wing and a dislocated right scapula. The wing has been immobilized to allow the injury to heal.
In addition to being very small, these feisty owls are diurnal (hunt during the day), and prey on other birds. They also appear to have eyes on the back of their head. A handy camouflage mechanism for a small predator.
