Five nestling House Finches were admitted on 5/10/25. In 8 days they went from downy babies in the brooder:

To getting their feathers and able to thermoregulate their temperature…

On Tuesday a nestling Robin arrived. He was the only survivor when he and his siblings were blown from the nest. Initially his prognosis was guarded, but he seems to be doing well. He’s a great example of why baby birds are easy to feed. Their gape flanges, sort of like lips, make their mouths very large targets when feeding.

Ken and Kirsti, BMW’s President and Treasurer, respectively, visited this past week. Ken worked on planning and permitting for a new wildlife clinic and servicing tractors and other equipment while Kirsti helped in the clinic. On Saturday we received a call about a Short-eared Owl hanging in a barbed-wire fence on Mud Springs Road west of BMW. It took Kirsti and I nearly 2 hours to find the owl and get it loose from the fence.

Then it was back to the clinic to clean and close the wound. 

Barn Owl 25-154 was found in a yard in Reith unable to fly. The exam found a dislocated left elbow. The damage was too severe to repair and the owl was euthanized.

Kirsti and I traveled to Baker City to pick up an adult Swainson’s Hawk that had been found in Ontario. Our exam found a left humerus fracture very close to the shoulder joint. The fracture could have healed, but  because the injury was so close to the joint the hawk would not have been able to fly and he was euthanized. 

And the Turkey Vultures have laid a second egg, although they are not particularly diligent about incubating them! Perhaps they know the eggs are not going to hatch.

The first bird this past week was very unlucky American Crow 25-106 who was struck by a vehicle. Both the radius and ulna in the left wing were fractured. The ulna fracture was compound, meaning the bone was exposed to the air. The damage was too extensive to repair and the bird was euthanized.

Next came 9 more Barn Owls from another hay stack that was being moved. This brings the baby Barn Owl total to 36. We are getting creative with the color combinations in order to identify them. It will be easier when they are moved outside. They will have a metal band placed on their right leg with a unique number that will identify each bird. 

Osprey 25-120 built his nest on a power pole near Boardman. He was severely burned when the nest caught fire. 

He also had burns consistent with electrocution on his right wing and left foot. The prognosis for a complete recovery and normal feathers was extremely poor and the bird was euthanized.

Golden Eagle 25-094 seems to be making good progress. Her bandage and (most) of the skin staples have been removed. She is still in a hospital cage to restrict her movement, but the ulna fracture appears to be healing well. The x-ray on the right was taken 12 days after the initial x-ray on the left.

And we have more eggs! Rita and Jonathan are very proud…

Turkey Vulture Daryl is standing guard over her egg.

Adult Osprey 25-096 with a compound humerus fracture was found along Highway 395 north of Hermiston. The bird’s left shoulder and elbow were dislocated. She was either struck by a vehicle or hit a power line. There was too much damage to be repaired and the bird was euthanized.

Four more  young barn owls were admitted from hay stacks that were being moved bringing the Barn Owl total to 27. They are eating 150 mice per day. That number will surpass 200 by Friday as the owlets grow. Last year 43 baby Barn Owls were admitted in May, all from hay stacks that were moved. I expect the 5,000 mice BMW purchased in March will be gone by the end of May so I will be placing another order this week. If you would like to help feed the baby owls, any amount is appreciated. Thank You!!!

Nineteen owls are in cages. Five owls and four owls are pictured below, respectively.

There are 8 owls in two incubators.

Its hard to imagine they will look like this in a few weeks…

Four downy Great Horned Owls were placed in hack boxes (large dog crates with the doors covered with corrugated plastic). The owls will be fed in the boxes for about one week. Then the doors will be removed. They will fledge in a week or so and return to the boxes for food until they are proficient at catching their own, usually sometime this fall.

Bald Eagle 25-069 has been moved to the large flight pen. She immediately started flapping her wings, but took a couple of days of exercise to get airborne. Her progress is slow, but she is improving each day. We are cautiously optimistic she will be releasable.

Golden Eagle 25-094 was found near Enterprise and is thought to have been struck by a vehicle. She had a large laceration on the underside of her left wing and a fractured left ulna. I was hoping closing the wound and immobilizing the fracture would be sufficient for healing, but it looks like we will also need to apply a body wrap to support the wing.

We also had visitors, including three classes of second graders from Irrigon on their annual field trip to BMW. They learned about birds of prey, dissected owl pellets and played the migration game. The game simulates some of the obstacles birds must navigate during spring and fall migration, including windows, power lines, toxic water, wind turbines and cars.

An additional 10 nestling Barn Owls and 5 eggs came from hay stacks that were being moved this past week, bringing the total to 10 owlets in two cages, 10 owlets in two brooders, and three eggs and one hatchling in the incubator who hatched today. Happy birthday little guy!

All these baby owls have got us thinking about a new game, Barn Owl Poker. We’re still working out the rules, but three eggs hatched in the incubator trumps three eggs hatched by momma owl. After all, we need special technology, mom comes equipped for the job! 

Two batches of Barn Owls and eggs, from two loads of hay, and two more young Great Horned Owls were admitted this past week. As soon as we receive negative avian influenza test results for the Great Horned Owls, they will go to our Great Horned Owl hack site in preparation for release.

The Barn Owls will be go out to one of our flight pens that has been converted to a Barn Owl hack site once they are eating whole mice in about a month. Four are pictured below.

Bald Eagle 25-069 was found near Enterprise unable to fly, likely struck by a vehicle. She was bruised and dehydrated, but we saw no fractures on her x-rays. We did find a brood patch, indicating she was either incubating eggs or nestlings. She is responding well to supportive care. Assuming her avian influenza test is negative, we will move her out to a flight pen next week and see how she flys after being rehydrated. We hope to return her to her family ASAP.

Two adult owls were admitted with right wing fractures that could not be repaired. Radiographs of Great Horned Owl 25-067 and Barn Owl 25-068 are below.

A newly hatched Barn Owl…