Osprey Fly Free
Three young Osprey were released this past week. One had been found tangled in baling twine, hanging from his nest which was on a BPA transmission tower in Finley Washington. Two were knocked out of their nest near Burbank Washington by a parent who was tangled in a fishing net. The release was featured in a NW News Network (public broadcasting) story by Public Radio Correspondent Tom Banse as a followup to a story he had just done on Osprey and baling twine.
Resident photographer, intern October, contributed these photos of the release. It was the first flight for all three birds.
Two More Releases
October also captured the release of a Red-tailed Hawk and a Prairie Falcon this week.
Admissions are Slowing Down
There were just 7 new arrivals this week. An emaciated fledgling Swainson's Hawk that we were unable to save and an adult American Kestrel that was hit by a car. The Kestrel seems to be recovering well. Hopefully she will be released in the coming week.
There was also a Warbler (as yet unidentified), a Goldfinch, 2 Swallows and a Crow.
The EducationTeam presented a program at McKay Creek Estates, an assisted living facility in Pendleton. The team has the coming week off.
Interns in Action
A BMW internship is a wide-ranging experience. Learning the importance of, and how to take, whole body radiographs is always part of the experience. First, the bird is ansthetized, its body thickness is measured and the proper settings on the x-ray machine are determined. The bird is properly positioned and immobilized with tape. Everyone steps out of the room and the x-ray is taken. As soon as the image is downloaded and reviewed to make sure it is of good quality, the bird is recovered from anesthesia.
A Red-tailed Hawk has been anesthetized and is being measured.
A Northern Harrier is positioned on a cassette. The right wing has been taped in place.
The left wing is positioned and immobilized, then the legs are extended and taped in place.
The last step is to place the x-ray cassette in the proper position on the x-ray table. I'll have to wait until next week to show you the results since I left my thumb drive (where I save the radiographs) at Pendleton Veterinary Clinic - oops.
A Huge Thank You
And finally, a huge thank you to dear friend, awesome BMW volunteer and very generous BMW supporter Tara Richards who donated a brand new iPad Mini to BMW. I used it to videotape the osprey release. Winnie then edited the footage to create the video included in the on-line version of the public radio story (above) and posted it on BMW's Facebook page. It was also used to take the Interns in Action series. Thank you Tara! This will be a great tool to help keep BMW friends and supporters more informed about what wildlife rehabilitators do.
