Baby Raptor season is in full swing. The current count is 12 Barn Owls, 1 Great Horned Owl and 5 Western Screech Owls. One Screech Owl is injured, the remaining owlets were orphaned when their nests were destroyed. Interns Allison and Mary have quickly become adept at getting baby owls to eat on their own.

Four Western Screech Owls have been banded and placed in a hack box. The young owls will be fed in the box for one week, then the door will be opened allowing them to fledge. Food will continue to be placed on the box until the owls have learned to hunt and no longer need to be fed.

Swainson’s Hawk 26-052 collided with a fence, fracturing the major and minor metacarpals in his left wing and dislocating his left hip. The damage was too extensive to repair and the hawk was euthanized.

Nestling Great Horned Owl 26-053 was found in an abandoned house in John Day. The finders saw no adult owls for several days and the house was scheduled to be torn down. There was no place to mount an artificial nest so the owl was transported to Pendleton. It is a very good eater, gaining 101 grams (507g – 638g) in four days.

Western Screech Owl 26-055 collided with something, dislocating his hip. We anticipate the young owl will heal with tincture of time and anti-inflammatories.

Northern Flicker 26-023 was admitted on March 27, 2026 with a fractured right scapula. After one month at BMW the flicker was released near where it had been found. It seemed very happy be back home!

Young Western Screech Owl 26-039 is recovering well from a collision and possible cat attack. It will soon join three other young Screech Owls. All four owls will be placed in a hack box in preparation for a soft release.

Barn Owl 26-030 was admitted on April 8 weighing 15 grams. Today, 11 days later, he weighs 33 grams! Intern Allison is feeding the owlet in the photo below.

And he has three new siblings as company. All are eating well and gaining weight. 

Hatchling Barn Owl 26-030, the first baby Barn Owl of 2026, arrived on Wednesday, a day or two after hatching. It weighed 15 grams, about 1/2 ounce. Barn Owls nest in cavities and the nest was too well hidden to find.

Bald Eagles Rita and Jonathon have been remodeling their nest recently. On Saturday morning Rita was proudly guarding her first egg of 2026. Although she has laid eggs for many years, they have never been fertile.

Intern Allison released Dark-eyed Junco 26-022 two weeks after it was admitted with head and shoulder injuries. The tiny bird quickly disappeared into the trees along the Umatilla River near where it had been found.

The new clinic has arrived and it is more than double the size of the old clinic. The inside walls are finished. Next is installation of the vinyl flooring.

Western Screech Owls 26-024 and 26-025 were admitted Saturday morning. The small owls had “branched,” moving out of their nest cavity onto a branch. They ended up on the ground, probably the result of a wind gust. The finder couldn’t see the nest and was concerned that neighborhood cats would get the owlets. Our exam found no major injuries. Once they are eating on their own, we will put them with Western Screech Owl 26-021 and place all three young owls in an artificial nest and let them fledge as they normally would. Food will be provided until they are self sufficient.

We attempt to gather as much information as possible in order to accurately assess the condition of wildlife brought to BMW for care. This is especially true for small birds such as Dark-eyed Junco 26-022 who weighed 16 grams at admission, slightly more than one-half ounce. Palpating such a small bird is challenging. Observing the bird in the box it arrived in is helpful (and is part of BMW’s intake protocol for all wildlife). 

We noticed a slight droop in the Junco’s right wing. It can be difficult to get a good x-ray on very small birds. In the x-ray below there is a slight asymmetry in the two shoulders. The airsac (black space below the arrows) on the right is slightly smaller than the same space on the left (the bird is on its back). This could indicate swelling in the right shoulder and is consistent with the droopy right wing we noticed initially.  

We opted for cage rest rather than attempting to bandage such a small wing. The Junco will be placed in a small flight pen in about one week for a test flight.

Northern Flicker 26-023 was the second admission of the week. It also had a droopy right wing. Asymmetry in the shoulders was detected during a physical exam. An X-ray showed increased density/swelling in the right shoulder. Oblique views of the shoulder showed a fracture of the right scapula. The right shoulder has been immobilized with a figure-8 bandage and body wrap. A rolled up towel in the corner of the Flicker’s cage simulates the trunk of a tree, allowing the flicker (a medium=sized woodpecker) to perch normally.

Saturday was a burn day which allowed the Fire Brigade, Tricia and intern Allison, to make a huge dent in the tumbleweed population!