Eagle Scout Project
Blue Mountain Wildlife has recently benefitted from the efforts of two scouts. Nathan McDonald completed his Eagle Scout Project this past Saturday by installing 6 new barn owl boxes at BMW’s Tri-Cities Center. The scouts built two additional boxes which will be held in reserve to replace other nest boxes as they wear out.Thank you scouts for a job well done!
Out with the old…
In with the new…
Girl Scout Gold Award Project
Brianna Carpenter will debut two Blue Mountain Wildlife videos that she created for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project at 2 p.m. Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at the Richland Public Library. Come join us at the library to see what this talented young woman has created…
Lice
Parasites, both internal and external, are very good at taking advantage of a debilitated bird. Intern Jenae, a veterinary technician student, has been teaching me how to differentiate chewing and sucking lice. The head of a chewing louse is wider than its thorax. The head of a sucking louse is the same width or narrower than its thorax. Fun facts you probably hadn’t ever thought about!
The Homecoming
On July 29 Baker County Sheriff Deputy Spencer found a fledgling Swainson’s Hawk standing along the side of a road unable or unwilling to fly away. He captured the hawk and Baker City volunteer Tara transported him to Pendleton. We found no injuries, but the young hawk had a significant load of plasmodium, a blood prasite that causes avian malaria. It took two courses of treatment to get rid of the parasite. One week after admission Tara returned to Pendleton and transported the hawk back to Baker City where Deputy Spencer released the bird. Within seconds he was joined by two adult birds, and the three birds called back and forth. It was a perfect release. Thank you Tara!
