What a Week
I’m sure it wasn’t the busiest week we’ve ever had, but it must have been in the top five. There were 39 admissions, 23 raptors, 15 other birds and a baby beaver. Sadly the beaver died of injuries that were likely inflicted by an adult beaver from a neighboring colony.
Anna’s Hummingbird 18-450
The first admission of the week was an Anna’s Hummingbird who had flown into a window. Fortunately five days of rest were all it took for the hummer to recover and be released.
American Kestrel 18-456
An American Kestrel came from Yakima with most of her large flight and tail feathers singed. Initially, she was so subdued we thought perhaps her vision or her lungs were also damaged, although she started eating mice right away. Now she is acting much more like a normal kestrel. Unfortunately, she is going to have to grow a whole new set of feathers before she can fly well enough to be released. The is gong to talk most of a year.
Cooper’s Hawk 18-461
I have never seen a bird with pink blood, until the arrival of 18-461. He had no apparent injuries, but was extremely emaciated (approximately 50% under weight) and his blood was pink! When the blood was spun down in a centrifuge to separate the serum from the red blood cells, the serum was white (instead of clear), indicating a large amount of fat in the blood (lipemia).
He was also very anemic with a packed cell volume (the percentage of red blood cells in the blood) of 10.5. A number in the mid-30’s would have been appropriate for a young hawk. If the PCV drops below 10, the bird generally doesn’t survive. This little hawk has defied the odds, however. After three days of fluid therapy and slowly introducing food (quail), his PCV was 21.5, and there was barely a trace of lipemia. What he ate to cause the lipemia is still a mystery.
Golden Eagle 18-478
A fledgling Golden Eagle was found, near starvation, in Baker County. The large, female eagle weighed just over 5 1/2 pounds. A normal weight would have been 10 pounds. She seems to be responding to fluid therapy. Her initial packed cell volume was 21. It dropped to 18.5 after 24 hours. It will probably be about 15 when she is fully hydrated. Although she is not as anemic as the Cooper’s Hawk, her gut seems to be more affected. She is eating a small amount of food each day. We are very hopeful that she will recover. (the bandage on her left wing is to keep her from pulling out the IV catheter in her wing)
Swainson’s Hawk 18-483
We don’t know how this fledgling Swainson’s Hawk broke his left wing and right leg. He may have crashed into something while attempting to perfect his flying skills. We are hopeful that the fractures will heal quickly and both limbs will be fully functional.
La Grande Parks and Recreation Summer Camp
For the second year, the La Grande Parks and Rec brought their summer camp participants to the Pendleton center to tour the center and learn about raptors. Dissecting owl pellets is always a fun activity.
