Although no birds were admitted to BMW’s Pendleton center this past week, it was an eventful time. On Tuesday, Dakota Castets-Didier of the East Oregonian visited BMW to see the new Intake complex consisting of Admission, Triage and Quarantine buildings that will allow new birds to be safely screened for avian influenza or other infectious diseases before being admitted the main clinic. His article can be seen on the front page of Saturday’s EO.

Then BMW President Carl Scheeler and I met with Ryan of Pendleton Outfitters to record a podcast. It will be posted on BMW’s website as soon as it is available, probably in a month or two.

Max Hughes of KNDU’s NonstopLocal visited BMW on Wednesday to learn what BMW is doing to safely rehabilitate birds during the current outbreak of avian influenza. If you click the KNDU link above you can see the story. 

Max had never seen a turkey Vulture before. Daryl was very happy to give him a closeup view in return for some tasty tidbits.

Annual Blue Mountain Wildlife Membership Meeting

Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting. It will be held via Zoom on January 14  at 11:00 am. The link is posted on BMW’s website: https://bluemountainwildlife.org/ We will look back on 2022 and ahead at some of the possibilities in 2023. I hope to see you there!

Barn Owls Helen and Carmen Think it’s Spring!!!

They have laid 10 eggs in the last two weeks…

Thank you to everyone who helped make Blue Mountain Wildlife’s year-end fundraising such an over whelming success. You raised just shy of $80,000 in December. That is more than one-third of BMW’s annual operating budget and puts us in an excellent position to deal with the opportunities and challenges of the new year. You have helped create an organization that is valued throughout eastern Oregon and eastern Washington by members of the public who find wildlife n need of care. Words do not adequately express how grateful I am for your ongoing support. 

Bald Eagle 22-424

 We could not save a Bald Eagle that came from Enterprise, Oregon this past week. He died of lead poisoning. Raptors, and other wildlife who scavenge, are secondarily poisoned when they feed on gut piles or carcasses of animals that have been shot with lead ammunition. 

The x-ray below shows two small pieces of lead in the eagles gut. The eagle’s blood tested ”high” which means the lead was above 66 micrograms/deciliter. Ten micrograms per deciliter is considered a toxic level of lead. We know lead is toxic and there is no safe level of lead in our food. I understand there are significant costs in switching from lead to nonlead ammunition, but the cost of not switching is even higher. For information about nonlead alternatives visit Hunting with Nonlead.

 Wishing Everyone Peace and Purpose 

 And This Much Happiness in 2023

Annual Blue Mountain Wildlife Membership Meeting

Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting. It will be held via Zoom on January 14, 2023 at 11:00 am. The link will be posted one week prior to that date on BMW’s website.

Wishing you happiness throughout the Holidays
and a New Year filled with Peace an Joy 

Thank You to everyone who has donated to Blue Mountain Wildlife by participating in the The Valley Giving Guide sponsored by Blue Mountain Community Foundation. You have helped raise nearly $14,000 to fund Blue Mountain Wildlife in the coming year. We receive 100% of each online donation! In addition, all donations will count towards the Matching Funds that the foundation is raising for this event. Again, thank you so much.

There were just three admissions this past week. A Snow Goose and Red-tailed Hawk both showed signs of Avian Influenza and were euthanized. A Great Horned Owl was found tangled in fishing line, hanging in a tree in Baker City. There are signs of joint damage in the left wrist where the line was tangled. She is receiving anti-inflammatory medication. We will have to give her time to heal before knowing if she will be able to fly normally. Her inability to hold up her right ear tuft indicates there was also head trauma. Hopefully that will correct itself with time and medication.

Varied Thrush and Western Screech Owl Release

Both birds were found in Hermiston. The Thrush hit a window. Fortunately it made a complete recovery. 

The Screech Owl was found in a road and was likely struck by a vehicle. He lost the vision in his left eye, but flies perfectly and seems to be compensating well to being one-eyed. He was admitted as an adult in good shape indicating he is an accomplished hunter. 

 The Valley Giving Guide , a year-end fundraising platform to bring donations and attention to nonprofits in our community, continues until the end of the year. You can make a year-end donation to Blue Mountain Wildlife through The Valley Giving Guide. All donations will count towards matching funds that Blue Mountain Community Foundation is raising for the event. Credit card fees from online donations will be covered by the foundation so BMW receives 100 percent of your donation.

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!

Merry Christmas from Everyone at the Wildlife Center!!!

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!!!