Raptors by the Dozen
Business is picking up at BMW. Admissions included eight baby owls: One Great Horned Owl, two Western Screech Owls whose nest tree was cut down, and five Barn Owls. Four of the Barn Owls went for a ride on a hay truck. The fifth fell out of its nest in a grain elevator, not once, but twice, fracturing its left scapula in the process.
In the radiograph below you can see that the two shoulders are not symmetrical, but its challenging to see the scapula hidden behind the coracoid.
The second radiograph is a lateral oblique. The bird is laying on its left side with the left wing pulled back and the right wing pulled forward, rotating the body slightly and exposing the left scapula. Hopefully this youngster will heal as quickly as the Eltopia Great Horned Owl.
The four adult raptors did not fair as well. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew into a window and died from her injuries. An adult Barn Owl had a compound humerus fracture. She also had a large brood patch, indicating she was either incubating eggs or brooding young. A Red-tailed Hawk fractured her left radius and ulna. The fractures were compound and both the elbow and shoulder were also effected.
Eleventh Gunshot Victim of the Year
It had been almost a month since the last gunshot bird was admitted. A Great Horned Owl was found near Adams. His injuries appeared to be at least two weeks old. His left eye was collapsed, the right ulna was shattered and the right hip was damaged.
Owl Road Trip
The tiny hatchling Great Horned Owl who fell from his nest, nearly quadrupled his weight in eight days, but he was lonesome! Fortunately, wildlife rehabbers are great at networking. Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene had two similar sized babies who were happy to welcome another sibling.
