A Dark Eyed Junco and a Mourning Dove were both victims of cats. The Junco died of its injuries, but the Dove seems to be well on the road to recovery. A House Finch had older injuries that lead to the development of Avian Pox. It was too debilitated to save. 

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI, dominated the rest of the Week. Five Snow Geese were admitted, all exhibiting symptoms of the virus. Water fowl are the most common carrier of the disease, likely due to their habit of congregating in large flocks. In our region, Snow Geese seem to be the most common species that people are finding.

Humans and our pets are not likely to contract HPAI, but we can spread it by handling sick birds and then coming into contact with other birds. If you see sick birds do not handle them. Report the number of birds and their location to your local fish and wildlife office. 

New Intake Center

The new Intake Center is slowly taking shape.

Building 1, Admission, is very basic. It contains a table where intake forms can be filled out.

Building 2, Examination, includes an exam table, anesthetic machine and storage shelves.

Building 3, Quarantine, has a bank of 5 stainless steel cages.

Blue Mountain Wildlife is again participating in The Valley Giving Guide , a year-end fundraising platform to bring donations and attention to nonprofits in our community.  It’s an online donation page that is available until the end of December 2022!  We receive 100% of each online donation!  All donations will count towards the Matching Funds that are being raised by Blue Mountain Community Foundation during this event.  Online donations are encouraged, checks will be accepted…information on where to send them is in the FAQ page on the Valley Giving Guide. 

Here’s how you can help! Donate if you can and share that you donated on your social media!

We will be posting about the Valley Giving Guide on social media (Facebook and Instagram) too. Even if you are not able to donate please like and share these posts on your social media. You can even email family and friends the link above and ask them to help. 

Let everyone know and help us raise funds to care for native wildlife in 2023! 

                                                    Thank you so much!!! 

Burrowing Owl 22-243 found by USFWS in June missing the feathers on the top of his head and his left eye is in Kansas! He has joined the Education Team at Operation Wildlife Inc in Linwood, Kansas. We are grateful to Operation Wildlife for providing the owl his forever home and are confident he will become a star avian ambassador.

Valley Giving Guide 2022

Blue Mountain Wildlife is again participating in The Valley Giving Guide , a year-end fundraising platform to bring donations and attention to nonprofits in our community.  It’s an online donation page that is available until the end of December 2022!  We receive 100% of each online donation!  All donations will count towards the Matching Funds that are being raised by Blue Mountain Community Foundation during this event.  Online donations are encouraged, checks will be accepted…information on where to send them is in the FAQ page on the Valley Giving Guide. 

Here’s how you can help! Donate if you can and share that you donated on your social media!

We will be posting about the Valley Giving Guide on social media (Facebook and Instagram) too. Even if you are not able to donate please like and share these posts on your social media. You can even email family and friends the link above and ask them to help. 

Let everyone know and help us raise funds to care for native wildlife in 2023! 

Thank You So Much!

A Message from Western Screech Owl 22-400

The caring folks here at BMW are helping me recover from my scapula fracture. I was chasing a mouse and didn’t see the car that hit me! I can’t wait to be released from the hospital and go home, but the hospital food here its great! I get two mice every night and don’t have to ruffle a feather to catch them! Go Valley Giving Guide!!!

Admissions included a Northern Flicker, a pair of Western Screech Owls and a Red-tailed Hawk. The Flicker had fractured its right coracoid. We attempted to immobilize the shoulder by taping the wing to its body, but a jagged bone fragment at the fracture site severed a large blood vessel and the Flicker died.

Western Screech Owl 22-400

The owl was found on a road and is presumed to have been struck by a vehicle. Its left scapula is fractured and the left eye is injured. You’ll also notice in the photo above that the left ear tuft is laying down, another sign of head trauma. The owl’s left wing has been immobilized and it is receiving pain medication for the eye and scapula injuries which is making it feel much better and willing to eat. Now we apply tincture of time and see how it does.

Western Screech Owl 22-401

The second owl was also found in a road and presumed to have been struck by a vehicle. We found no fractures, but signs of head trauma and hemorrhage in the left eye. The eye is looking better with medication and the owl is eating. Another round of tincture of time and we will see what the outcome is.

Red-tailed Hawk 22-403

This adult female Red-tailed Hawk was found on State Line Road near Milton-Freewater. She has abrasions on both legs consistent with road rash. We presume she was struck by a vehicle. She has an abscess on her left leg likely the result of bite wounds, perhaps from a rodent she was trying to capture. The road rash is recent. The bites wounds are a week or two old. She is on antibiotics and pain medication.

There were no admissions to the Pendleton center this past week. Work is continuing on the new Admissions Center. Samantha and Tricia have assembled the anesthesia machine in the Intake Building. We will install a bank of five cages in the Quarantine Building this week.  

Freezing Fog Advisory

Night time temperatures should be above freezing by Tuesday and in the 50’s during the day. Today’s high is predicted to be 32. Brrr…

Safe travels during the Thanksgiving Holiday!

 We wish everyone a warm and cozy holiday!

Bird wise it was another quiet week at BMW. The Pendleton center admitted a Lincoln Sparrow that had likely been struck by a vehicle and died two days after admission. A necropsy revealed brain damage from the vehicle strike and a keel fracture from a previous injury. A Dark-eyed Junco was also admitted. We suspect it struck a window. It had multiple ruptured air sacs and a badly damaged right shoulder. Its injuries were too extensive to repair and it was euthanized. 

A Barred Owl was admitted to the Benton City center after being struck by a vehicle. It appears to have been stunned and not sustained any major injuries. We are hoping it will soon be ready for release.

Oregon State Police picked up an injured Great Horned Owl on Saturday near Vale that had likely been struck by a vehicle. Good friends of BMW,  Joe and Cordi Atkinson, kept it safe overnight and then met Tricia in Ontario so she could transport the owl to Pendleton. An examination found extensive injuries on the owl’s left side, including a shattered humerus and a femur fracture. The damage could not be repaired and the owl was humanely euthanized.

New Admissions Center Update

We are making good progress on the new Admissions Center. Volunteers Adrian and Tyler traveled from Ellensburg this past weekend to install vinyl flooring and base trim in all three sheds. Below is the first shed: Intake

Shed 2: Putting finishing touches on Examination

We left a heater running over night in each shed to give the adhesive time to harden without freezing first! 

Adrian and Tyler didn’t spend the entire weekend laying vinyl flooring. Adrian captured these photos of Tyler feeding education birds Swainson’s Hawk Teddy and Golden Eagle LB…

Thank you Tyler and Adrian for all your help this week!!!