Most wildlife are brought to BMW for care as a result of human activity. They are struck by a vehicle, crash into a window or are mauled by a cat (a non-native species introduced into North America by people). None of these intentionally harm wildlife. A bird can fly into the path of a car, giving the driver no alternative but to hit the bird. Raptor silhouettes hanging in windows cannot prevent all birds from hitting windows. 

Gunshot injuries are intentional. There are no hunting seasons for native birds other than upland game birds or water fowl. Sometimes the cause of an injury is not obvious. That is the case for Swainson’s Hawk 25-443. The damage to her left wing looks like it was caused by a projectile, The condition of the 3 broken primary feather shafts is consistent with a gunshot injury. 

The hawk is an adult female with a brood patch. She is thin, weighing 686 grams, and anemic with a packed cell volume of 28.5 and a total protein of 2.8. We are hopeful she will be ready to release in a few weeks, as her young are still partially dependent upon her for food and she needs to be ready to migrate this fall.

Other admissions this past week included a Black-chinned Hummingbird with a non repairable shoulder injury who was euthanized, an American Crow that died while being transported to the clinic, and a Northern Saw-whet Owl with a dislocated elbow and shoulder, injuries that could not be repaired.

Three successful releases boosted our spirits this week. A Western Screech Owl was released after recovering from injuries sustained when it was tangled in netting covering raspberry bushes.

Two young Cooper’s Hawks from two different families had been found unable to fly shortly after fledging. Both responded well to supportive care and were released. The first hawk release is pictured below. The second hawk left so quickly there was no time for a photo!

Volunteers Jacque, Kenny and Janie released the birds. Thank you awesome volunteers!

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.

All 7 of the native birds admitted this past week were too badly injured to save. They were victims of cars, cats and guns.

Two young Coop[er’s Hawks had been shot. One hawk died immediately from a head injury. The second hawk had multiple fractures in his right wing and was euthanized.

We were able to release 10 songbirds who had been admitted as nestlings.

1 Western Kingbird…

6 American Robins…

And 3 House Finches…

Long-eared Owl Update

The emaciated Long-eared Owl admitted last week has responded well to supportive care and is feistier by the day!

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Although there were just 8 new admissions this past week, we saw a lot of broken bones. American Robin fledgling 25-408 had both wing and leg fractures. Euthanasia was our only option.

Wilson’s Warbler 25-410 had both radius and ulna fractures. The injuries were not repairable.

Fledgling Burrowing Owl 25-411 was found at the former Umatilla Chemical Depot with an injured eye. The owl has an appointment on Tuesday at Pendleton Veterinary Clinic to have the eye evaluated.

Fledgling Western Screech Owl 25-413 had a new fracture in its right tibiotarsus and a healed fracture in its left radius. The leg fracture was very close to the knee joint which would almost certainly compromise joint movement. Again euthanasia was the humane option.

The hack box door was opened and two young red-tailed hawks were released. Food is being placed on a feeding platform daily until they perfect their hunting skills.

Just before we said goodby to intern Sadie, she released a young Killdeer. Sadie is back home in Colorado and will soon be returning to school in Kansas.

As I was composing this newsletter Long-eared Owl 25-415 was admitted. The finder had kept the owl “a week or two” and fed it chicken and fish. At 166 grams, the owl is emaciated. A radiograph showed a healed fracture in the right leg and damage to the left wrist. The bird’s  shoulders are not symmetrical. If the emaciation can be successfully treated, we will re-evaluate the shoulders next week. 

If you or someone you know find a bird needing care, please call the nearest wildlife rehabilitator. It can literally mean the difference between life and death for the bird.

Interns Sadie and Marissa are still busy feeding baby birds. Marissa returned a young American Crow to its family in SW Pendleton.

Of the 16 birds admitted this past week,10 were raptors. The smallest was Northern Saw-whet Owl 25-401 from Vale who had a fractured humerus that could not be repaired Euthanasia was the most humane option.

On Saturday Tricia and I presented a program at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. American Kestrel Yoda and Gyr/Peregrine hybrid Rainy were a big it with museum visitors.