Blue Mountain Wildlife (BMW) utilizes a method of raising young raptors called hacking.   Hacking mimics the care young raptors receive from their parents. Healthy nestlings are placed in a hack box once they are old enough to thermoregulate and pick up food on their own, but before they are fully feathered and able to fly. The hack box can take many shapes, but two important characteristics are it provides the nestlings with a view of the release site, and it has a chute through which food can be presented in such a way that the human providing the food is not visible to the young birds.

This past spring and summer BMW has hacked young Great Horned Owls, Western Screech Owls, Barn Owls, American Kestrels and Swainson’s Hawks. In past years we have also hacked young Red-tailed Hawks. Below is a photo of two hack boxes that were intended for hacking Red-tailed and Swainson’s Hawks. The one on the right has been modified to simulate a cavity nest of a Barn Owl. A wooden ladder was added to enable the fledgling owls to climb back into the nest box and roost during the day. On Tuesday, when the high is predicted to be a balmy 86 degrees, we will place  6 young Barn Owls in the box. The second photo is of a Swainson’s Hawk on a feeding platform. The platforms can be viewed from the hack boxes.

The Golden Eagle from Ironside is making good progress. He is flying and spending time on perches rather than on the ground. He made it to a high perch for the first time today. Once he is consistently flying between high perches we will know he is ready for release.