The Rain Came and Washed the Smoke Away
Like all of Oregon and Washington, we have been surrounded by smoke from forest fires for nearly two weeks, but on Sunday, the rain came and washed the smoke away. New intern Hilary took this photo at McKay Wildlife Refuge, just across the highway from the Pendleton center. Its still a little hazy, but at least we can see the hills!
New Interns
Hilary, a Veterinary Technician student at Portland Community College, has been here all week. Below, she is giving oral fluids to an American Kestrel. The kestrel is being restrained by Ezra, who arrived on Thursday from Minnesota. Ezra has an undergraduate degree in biology, is applying to grad school, with the ultimate goal of becoming a veterinarian.
Fond Farewell
On Tuesday we said goodbye to intern Mable. She flew home to Chicago to prepare for her junior year as a pre-veterinary student. We wish her the very best in her studies. Before leaving, she recovered this little Western Screech Owl from anesthesia. He has quite a headache. We think he collided with a window.
Lots More Birds
The new interns haven’t had time to be bored! There were 28 new admissions last week, including two Osprey fledglings. The first, below, clipped a barbed-wire fence, injuring his right wingtip. The second Osprey was found tangled in baling twine, hanging from his nest on a channel marker in the Columbia River 15 feet above the water. A resourceful fisherman managed to cut the bird down and bring him to shore.
Common Poorwill 17-477
The Common Poorwill, found in arid parts of the west, is one of the few birds known to hibernate. This fledgling landed inside the 25 foot high walls of Two Rivers Correctional Institute near Umatilla. The nest must have been on the roof of one of the buildings inside the prison. The youngster is only a few days from being able to fly. Hopefully we will be able to reunite him with his parents soon.
Red-tailed Hawk 17-480
An injured Red-tailed Hawk was found near Ephrata, WA on Friday and transported to a veterinary clinic in Moses Lake, WA. BMW was contacted Saturday afternoon. A few phone calls later, arrangements had been made for a WDFW biologist to pick the hawk up at the vet clinic Sunday morning and transport her to Moses Lake volunteers Ray and Karin. They met Tri-Cities volunteers Ken and Janie who met Bob in Umatilla. Bob delivered the hawk to the Pendleton center Sunday afternoon. It takes a lot of dedicated people to rescue injured wildlife in eastern Oregon and Washington!
An exam and radiograph found the hawk has a fractured coracoid. Surgical repair of this type of fracture is very challenging and has a similar (poor) rate of success as immobilizing the wing with a bandage. We have occasionally been able to release birds with coracoid fractures, so chose the latter, conservative approach. Below, Ezra has recovered the hawk from anesthesia.
