The Week in Review
It was Round-Up Week in Pendleton which means the population more than doubled with folks coming to watch the rodeo action. It was much quieter at the wildlife center with just two hawks being admitted.
Red-tailed Hawk 22-368
First was a Red-tailed Hawk from Baker City that exhibited symptoms of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI): it was unable to stand and had very notable head tremors. The hawk was euthanized on admission and will be tested at the OSU Diagnostic Lab to confirm the cause of illness.
Cooper’s Hawk 22-369
Periodically we admit a bird that has recovered from an injury and then been injured again. That seems to be the case for 22-369. The hawk was found on the ground in Pendleton. During the initial exam we noticed his left leg was slightly crooked, his hips were not symmetrical, and he didn’t want to open his left eye.
A radiograph showed his left hip was dislocated and there was a healed fracture in the left tibiotarsus. An eye exam revealed that what initially appeared to be debris in his left eye was part of the iris which had been torn and was protruding through the cornea. I have no idea how that can happen, but our best guess is the hawk hit a window. The eye injury had just happened. The hip and leg injuries were older and healed. His weight was normal for a male Cooper’s Hawk so he had been doing well after recuperating from the initial injuries. I’m not sure if the damaged eye can ever be functional. We will schedule an appointment at Pendleton Veterinary Clinic to see what the prognosis is.
A Visit With Blue Mountain Audubon Society
Tricia and I were pleased to be invited to present a program for the members of BMAS this past week. The group has been a long-time supporter of BMW both financially and volunteering to transport injured birds.
Lesser Goldfinch 22-308
The tiny goldfinch is all grown up and outside in the songbird pen in preparation for its release!
