The admission this past week of 9 more Barn Owls from three hay stacks that were moved brought our 2024 total to 52 young owls. The former Vulture pen has been converted into a very large Barn Owl hack box were the owlets can be allowed to fledge. Food will be provided until they have perfected their flying skills and are proficient hunters.
One Great Horned Owl fledgling was returned to his family after testing negative for avian influenza. Three have been moved to the GHOW hack site to prepare for release. Sadly they were brought to BMW because their parents were both shot and killed.
Another owlet is in quarantine until she can be tested for avian influenza on Monday.
Adult Cooper’s Hawk 24-136 was admitted with two fractures in the left ulna. There is also damage in the wrist and elbow. Although the prognosis is guarded, the hawk is eagerly eating his daily ration of quail so we will see if immobilization of the wing, anti-inflammatories and tincture of time will work.
The high light of this past week was a spectacular display of the Northern Lights Friday night. The night sky was ablaze with color.
Moving Gyrfalcon Persimmon and Great Horned Owl Sage into their permanent homes was a major accomplishment this week. All the Education Birds are now housed in the new Education Building. Each has spacious accommodations with their specific needs taken into consideration. Persimmon wasted no time in enjoying his breakfast of quail.
Osprey 24-078 was found on a road near La Grande and transported to Pendleton by ODFW. An exam and radiographs revealed a shattered clavicle. While our x-ray machine is a highly valued piece of equipment, it is installed in such a way that its orientation cannot be changed. Below are two radiographs of the Osprey. The first view is a dorsal-ventral view with the bird on his back on the table. The second view is an H-view with the bird elevated at a 45 degree angle to the table.
The H-view makes it easier to visualize both the clavicle and the coracoid. It shows that there is a mid shaft fracture of the clavicle and the end that articulates with the coracoid is shattered. You can see part of the stainless steel bowl we used to position the osprey at the bottom edge of the x-ray. The damage to the shoulder was too extensive to repair and the bird was euthanized.
The tree housing 6 nestling American Kestrels blew down this past week. The tiny falcons are all uninjured and have quickly learned to eat off a plate.they will be moved to a hack box, allowing them to fledge at their normal times. It is typical to see raptor nestlings of different sizes. The female starts incubating her eggs as soon as the first one is laid. There are usually two or three days between each egg so the babies hatch out every two or three days. This gives the older siblings an advantage if there is not enough prey/food available. They will out compete the younger birds, but at least some of them will survive to fledge. These 6 babies are eating 14 mice per day!
American Kestrel Yoda likes her new home too. Below, she flies between intern Harini and Tricia…
We had a busy week, admitting 13 more Barn Owls who were displaced when their homes/haystacks were moved to make room for the next cutting of hay. That brings our total to 27 barn owls to be hacked out. These owls can easily each consume six or more mice per night. Barn owls provide amazing, free!, rodent control to the agricultural community. Placing a few nest boxes near trees that are adjacent to open fields can encourage these cavity nesting predators to take up residency.
We know that lead is a toxic material. We measure it in units of micrograms per deciliter of blood. A µg is equivalent to a millionth of a gram. A deciliter is a tenth of a liter of blood. Twenty µg/dl of lead is considered to be a toxic amount. At BMW we chelate to remove the lead when it is 10 µg/dl or higher. Bald Eagle 23-060 was admitted with a lead level of 217 µg/dl, a critically high amount of lead.
Fortunately he has responded well to chelation and is already eating food on his own. We chelate for 4 days and then stop three days and check the lead level. The eagle will likely need at least two more courses of chelation. Then he will be moved outside to a flight pen to begin reconditioning for release. That often takes months. The effects of lead are long-term and can permanently affect decision making and coordination, including the ability to find food and fly.
Rehabilitated Raptor Research Webinar
On May 7 there will be a webinar providing an overview of the research evaluating the post release success of rehabilitated raptors. In most species the data clearly demonstrates there are ecological benefits to their release. This is the first time anyone has taken a scientific look at the effects of raptor rehabilitation!
Common Poorwill 24-075
We received a call regarding an “owl” perched on a window sill behind a large display at a local business. I arrived to find a Common Poorwill, whose cryptic color looks very owl-like. There was only a few inches between the bird and the display. A long-handled net was needed to remove the bird. An exam found no injuries. After a quick test flight the small arial insectivore was released.
Four birds were admitted to the wildlife center this past week. The first was a Common Raven.The details of what happened to the bird were vague, but it had been fed by people since it was a tiny nestling, They said it could fly, but it didn’t like to. A physical exam and radiographs revealed the bird had metabolic bone disease due to a calcium deficient diet. The long bones in both wings showed signs of poorly healed fractures. We all need calcium in our diet in order to grow healthy bones and for metabolism. Euthanasia was the only humane option since metabolic bone disease is not reversible.
Two shotgun pellets are also visible in the x-ray. It is illegal to shoot a Raven, but the damage caused by the pellets was minor compared to the damage caused by the poor diet.
If you find a baby bird on the ground, please call the nearest wildlife rehabilitation center. Taking a migratory bird out of a nest is illegal as they are protected by state and federal law.
Great Horned Owl 24-053 fell out of its nest and impaled its wing on a sharp stump at the base of the tree. The damage to the wing was too extensive to repair and the owlet was euthanized. Nestling Barn Owl 24-054 was found when hay was being loaded onto a truck. Unfortunately its siblings did not survive. This little guy is fine and now in a hack box with 11 other Barn Owls!
Western Bluebird 24-055 was found in a road and was likely hit by a car. A radiograph showed it had a compound fracture in the right humerus and old, healed fractures in its right leg. What a tough little bird! Unfortunately the wing fracture could not be repaired and the bird was euthanized.
The only new admission this week was an adult female Osprey that had been electrocuted. Damage to her feathers and feet was too extensive to repair and she was euthanized. Osprey build their nests on the tops of snags. Power poles can look like snags. When they try to build a nest on the cross arms of the pole the result can be electrocution. The birds sometimes survive, but are usually too damaged to recover.
Power providers will try and discourage Osprey from building a nest on a power pole, but the birds can be very determined. The most effective solution is to provide an alternative nest platform on a nearby pole. If the platform is higher than the nest, they will usually rebuild their nest on the higher platform if the power company removes the first nest.
Great Horned Owl nestling 24-047 from La Grande tested negative for avian influenza and was placed in the nest box with nestling 24-030.
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