The clinic population of young Swainson’s Hawks increased to 8 this past week, mainly due to the continuing high temperatures. The forecast is for a dip into the 80’s on Thursday and Friday and then a gradual climb back to triple digits by next week. Below is a photo of the youngest Swainson’s. He is looking much better today. He fell about 80 feet from a nest. 

The most heart-wrenching case this week was a fledgling Golden Eagle. She was likely struck by a vehicle, fracturing her right leg just above the foot. There was no way to repair the black, exposed bone and she was euthanized. 

Thank you to volunteers Ken, Kirsti, Lindsey and Cody who helped this past week. Ken and Kirsti are working on a very exciting project that will include the installation of cameras in the Education Building, the flight pens and the clinic, allowing you to see what happens on a daily basis at BMW via videos posted on YouTube. Once the internet connection is upgraded you will be able to watch all these activities as they unfold. Exciting times at BMW!

Lindsey and Cody helped by doing some deconstruction on a flight pen that is being converted to a storage shed for lawn mowers and other equipment. They also helped by scraping towels, not a glamorous job, but very important. All the rehab cages have towels in them which get a liberal dose of mutes, aka bird poop, when the cage is in use. The washing machine is a lot happier when the mutes are removed before washing. 

We have been keeping a watchful eye on area fires. The Coombs Canyon Fire, the closest to BMW, is at 95% containment. Kirsti took the photo below on Friday evening…

Ways You Can Help This Week

If you have a couple of hours to spare this week, and would like to help, please call the clinic, 541-278-0215. There will be cages to clean inside and towels to scrape outside, as well as another shed to repurpose. You can also forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in helping out. Thank you in advance!

The moon was full this past weekend and Kirsti took this amazing photo…

Triple digit temperatures were a factor in many of the 21 new admissions this past week. Young birds leave the nest prematurely in an attempt to escape the heat, or the heat makes it difficult for their parents to find enough food and the hungry babies end up on the ground. 

The clinic residents currently include 5 young Swainson’s Hawks…

5 young American Kestrels…

Two sibling Bald Eagles, a petit male and his (much) bigger sister. The female is thin, but the male is quite emaciated. He seems to be responding well to supportive care.

And two young Cliff Swallows…

Most will be moved outside to flight pens or hack boxes in the coming week.

The fire was a little too close on the Fourth of July. It started about dusk in a field just south of the wildlife center. Fortunately there was a quick response to a 911 call and the fire was quickly put out. The fire came very close to the Education Building!

The next day we admitted a starving fledgling Golden Eagle. The young bird was more than 50% underweight at 1.85 kg. That is 4 pounds. The average weight for a male golden eagle is 3.9 kg or 8.6 pounds. The eagle had no apparent injuries. Perhaps something had happened to one of his parents. Although we tried, we were not able to save him. 

The next day five more nestling American Kestrels were admitted after their nest was destroyed. They have quickly learned to eat off a plate.

The nestling Swainson’s Hawk admitted last week is growing rapidly.

Half of the birds brought to us are too badly injured to help. That makes the releases very special.  This past week we were able to release a Northern Flicker, a Black-billed Magpie and a Cooper’s Hawk.

The first nestling Swainson’s Hawk of the summer was also admitted. It fell from a very high nest and was the only one of four siblings to survive.  There is damage to the right hip joint. Hopefully the joint will still be functional after it heals.

We had help in the clinic from volunteer Bradda who is a senior at Southern Oregon University majoring in Environmental Conservation. Thank you Bradda!

And now the releases!

The Flicker had flown into a window, but quickly recuperated…

The Magpie had been found by a cyclist hanging between two guy wires by its neck. It made an amazing recovery and quickly flew away when released…

The Cooper’s Hawk was equally amazing. It was admitted with two fractures in the right ulna and damage in both the right wrist and elbow joints…

And the Barn Owl night show continues…  

Summer is officially here and temperatures reached the mid 90’s on Saturday. That makes today’s 81 degrees feel like spring has returned. There were ten new admissions in the past week. Most didn’t fare well after encountering cars, cats, windows or power lines.

Northern Flicker 24-212 is responding well after hitting a window. Fledgling Red- tailed Hawk 24-213 seems to be OK, but is a in quarantine until it can be tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Red-tails are a high risk species for HPAI, a disease we can rarely treat successfully. The closest lab that can test for HPAI is the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Corvallis. UPS can transport the sample over night with standard shipping, but it takes two days to complete the test. This means the hawk admitted on Thursday will remain in quarantine until we receive its HPAI test results next Wednesday. We take these precautions to protect the other rehab birds in the clinic and our resident education birds.

Young Ring-necked Pheasant 24-216, not quite old enough to fly,was found in the middle of Hermiston. While pheasants are not native to North America, having been introduced here in the 1880’s, they are not considered a pest, but a popular upland game bird. This bird may have been raised in captivity and escaped its enclosure or be a wandering teenager. Either way it seems to be healthy and will be released in suitable habitat when its a little older.   

We were pleased to welcome long-time Washington volunteer Toni and her friends Terri Sue and Noelle for a visit. 

They shared a few photos of birds they spotted as they traveled about eastern Oregon. Toni captured an Osprey bringing a fish to its young…

Terri Sue shared this photo of an adult Great Grey Owl…

And Noelle caught this young Great Gray Owl dining on a rabbit under the watchful eye of its parent…

Tricia caught one of the young Kestrels we recently released having a bed-time snack…