La Grande ODFW brought an adult Swainson’s Hawk 23-093 to Pendleton. The hawk had been found on the ground, unable to fly, east of La Grande. The only obvious injury was a small laceration on the tip of the right wing. A radiograph made it apparent the hawk had been shot. Fortunately there are no fractures and we hope he will make a complete recovery. Can you find the four pellets? 

The hawk also has a blood lead level of 11.14 micrograms/deciliter and is receiving chelation treatment. That is a relatively low level of lead, but there is no safe lead level. Since we are giving him antibiotics it is a simple matter to add oral chelation. No attempt will be made to remove the pellets as the surgery would cause more tissue damage than the pellets. The lead in his blood came from eating carrion that had been shot with lead ammunition. Hunt with non-lead ammunition to prevent secondary poisoning!

Two Releases This Past Week

Common Poorwill 23-093 

The Poorwill’s test flight on Monday went very well. On Tuesday we took it a few miles south of where it had originally been found and released it in perfect Poorwill habitat. It seemed very happy to be back home!

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