Twas the week before Christmas and throughout the center it was cold and icy, because it was winter. Icicles hung on the eves everywhere, but then the fog lifted, the sun was so fair!
We have occassionally seen the sun this past week. it has been above freezing mostly, with no snow in Pendleton. There were just three admissions this past week, all on Friday. A Barn Owl collided with a semi on the freeway. It didn’t end well for the Barn Owl, her wing damage was not repairable.
An Oregon Junco was very lucky. It was caught by a cat and rescued by a homeowner after the cat brought the bird into the house. It is going to have to grow an entire set of tail feathers, but otherwise seems OK.
Common Loon
We received a call about an injured Great Blue Heron in a parking lot behind Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute in Pendleton. Upon arrival, we found a Common Loon. It had been foggy earlier in the day. The bird probably crash landed on the icy pavement, and then was unable to take off. Loons and Grebes are birds that need to run across the water in order to get airborn.
A physical exam and x-ray found no injuries. A few hours after recovering from anesthesia, we released the Loon at the Umatilla Marina in the Columbia River.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
