Five young Western Screech Owls have been in a hack box for more than a week. The door will be opened tonight, Sunday, to allow them to fledge. Mice will be placed on top of the box until the owls are self-sufficient.

Fourteen Barn Owls are self-feeding and graduated to hack boxes in a large flight pen. It will be two or three weeks before the door to the pen is opened and the nightly Barn Owl show begins.

Great Horned Owl 26-053 has also graduated to a hack box. Although he is alone in the box, a family of Great Horned Owls also live at the site. The youngster will have a foster family when he fledges. We will place extra food on the feeding platform when that time comes, as the foster family will quickly figure out there is a new food source. Who doesn’t like a fast-food meal on occasion!

Swainson’s Hawk 26-084 was found on the ground under a wind turbine. We suspect the hawk was disoriented by the turbulence of the turbine blades and then hit the ground, fracturing two ribs and injuring his shoulder. We are hoping he will heal with anti-inflammatories and cage rest. He is eating well and quite feisty!

Sharp-shinned Hawk 26-088 was found near Joseph, unable to fly. Our exam found fractures of the right humerus and femur that could not be repaired.

Young American Robin 26-061 was also moved into a larger cage. He is not quite self-feeding, but is becoming more indignant at the presence of humans. It won’t be long before he will be moved outside to the songbird pen.

And speaking of grumpy, resident Turkey Vultures Daryl and Darrel have laid two eggs and are very protective of their nest. Both of the birds are female, so the eggs are not fertile.

Vinyl flooring has been installed in the new clinic. The posts are set for a deck. Once the deck is complete we will request an inspection by Oregon State Building Codes to allow occupancy of the building. The commercial vinyl flooring is beautiful!

We saw lots of trauma this week. Mourning Dove 26-058 had humerus and ulna fractures in the left wing and a dislocated left elbow. Euthanasia was the only humane option.

The largest birds we admit are pelicans. American White Pelican 26-059 had two broken legs.  It probably hit a power line or other type of wire while landing. The fractures were not repairable and the bird was euthanized.

Adult Swainson’s Hawk 26-060 was found near Arlington. His right wing had been severed at the wrist. Again, euthanasia was the only option.

Fortunately 12 baby Barn Owls are growing and doing well. They will soon be able to eat whole mice and go outside to a flight pen in preparation of fledging. There are seven owlets in the photo below.

Baby Raptor season is in full swing. The current count is 12 Barn Owls, 1 Great Horned Owl and 5 Western Screech Owls. One Screech Owl is injured, the remaining owlets were orphaned when their nests were destroyed. Interns Allison and Mary have quickly become adept at getting baby owls to eat on their own.

Four Western Screech Owls have been banded and placed in a hack box. The young owls will be fed in the box for one week, then the door will be opened allowing them to fledge. Food will continue to be placed on the box until the owls have learned to hunt and no longer need to be fed.

Swainson’s Hawk 26-052 collided with a fence, fracturing the major and minor metacarpals in his left wing and dislocating his left hip. The damage was too extensive to repair and the hawk was euthanized.

Nestling Great Horned Owl 26-053 was found in an abandoned house in John Day. The finders saw no adult owls for several days and the house was scheduled to be torn down. There was no place to mount an artificial nest so the owl was transported to Pendleton. It is a very good eater, gaining 101 grams (507g – 638g) in four days.

Western Screech Owl 26-055 collided with something, dislocating his hip. We anticipate the young owl will heal with tincture of time and anti-inflammatories.

Northern Flicker 26-023 was admitted on March 27, 2026 with a fractured right scapula. After one month at BMW the flicker was released near where it had been found. It seemed very happy be back home!

Young Western Screech Owl 26-039 is recovering well from a collision and possible cat attack. It will soon join three other young Screech Owls. All four owls will be placed in a hack box in preparation for a soft release.

Barn Owl 26-030 was admitted on April 8 weighing 15 grams. Today, 11 days later, he weighs 33 grams! Intern Allison is feeding the owlet in the photo below.

And he has three new siblings as company. All are eating well and gaining weight. 

Hatchling Barn Owl 26-030, the first baby Barn Owl of 2026, arrived on Wednesday, a day or two after hatching. It weighed 15 grams, about 1/2 ounce. Barn Owls nest in cavities and the nest was too well hidden to find.

Bald Eagles Rita and Jonathon have been remodeling their nest recently. On Saturday morning Rita was proudly guarding her first egg of 2026. Although she has laid eggs for many years, they have never been fertile.

Intern Allison released Dark-eyed Junco 26-022 two weeks after it was admitted with head and shoulder injuries. The tiny bird quickly disappeared into the trees along the Umatilla River near where it had been found.