The old clinic is gone! A small, but mighty remote controlled machine maneuvered the two halves of the double-wide so they could be prepped for the trip to Finley Butte Landfill where the metal will be recycled.

Winnie recruited her friend Dan to take a drone shot of the empty space and future location of the new clinic. Thank you Dan and Winnie!

There were just two admissions this past week. Ring-billed Gull 25-523 had a broken leg and a back injury. The prognosis for recovery was poor and gulls are high risk species for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The bird was euthanized.

We are more hopeful for Northern Pygmy Owl 25-524. At 67 grams, it is one of the tiniest raptors that we see. She(?) has a droopy right wing and a dislocated right scapula. The wing has been immobilized to allow the injury to heal. 

In addition to being very small, these feisty owls are diurnal (hunt during the day), and prey on other birds.  They also appear to have eyes on the back of their head. A handy camouflage mechanism for a small predator.

We were privileged to host 17 students from Long Creek School this past week. That is more than half of the student population!

Red-tailed Hawk 25-519 was admitted with a leg fracture from a gunshot injury. Initially the hawk seemed very alert, but it died during the night. We suspect Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Test results should arrive next week.

Common Raven 25-520 was also admitted. Ravens are a high risk species for avian influenza. The bird was found in an area where water fowl, primary carriers of influenza, congregate and was very depressed. It had no obvious injuries. Influenza seemed to be the most likely cause for the bird’s condition. To minimize the risk to our resident birds, it was euthanized. Test results for the raven should arrive next week as well.

 The old double-wide that housed the clinic is now in two pieces. I fully expect it to be gone by next week’s newsletter!

It was an exciting week at Blue Mountain Wildlife. A $1,000 donation arrived from PacifiCorp. The generous gift will  help BMW continue helping native wildlife in the coming year.

Two Long-eared Owls were released. The first owl wasted no time in returning to the forest.

The second LEOW was a bit more tentative before realizing he was back home!

Great Horned Owl 25-476 was released at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, very close to where the adult owl had been found on the ground unable to fly. She was emaciated, but did not have any obvious injuries. We are not sure what happened to her that prevented her from being able to fly and hunt. Perhaps she had been struck by a vehicle. 

The owl quickly left the travel box and headed for a tall tree. A resident Red-tailed Hawk briefly expressed its displeasure at the owl’s presence. After getting her bearings, the owl flew off. I’m sure she was happy be back home.

On Friday, Tricia, Rainy and I traveled to The Vert Auditorium in Pendleton to greet 500 area students as they arrived for a Young Peoples Concert by the Oregon East Symphony. The concert featured Chris Thomas’ Malheur Symphony. The music was inspired by Malheur Wildlife Refuge. Rainy, a Gyrfalcon/Peregrine Falcon hybrid and BMW’s newest education bird, was the perfect greeter!

The time has changed. I hope you were able to enjoy getting the hour back that you lost in the spring. As of today, the old clinic is an empty shell. Isabelle, Kelsi, Winnie and Tricia have worked very hard moving everything to either the temporary clinic or the pod for storage. Both spaces are full. The cages have been moved outside and covered with tarps.

Operations in the temporary clinic are being fine tuned. We have two weeks to move the old clinic/double-wide out and prep the site for arrival of the new clinic. 

Admissions this week included Cedar Waxwing 25-511 with a shoulder injury, Western Screech Owl 25-512 with a head injury and Merlin 25-513 (a small falcon), also with a shoulder injury. All are receiving cage rest and treatment for their injuries. Below are photos of the Waxwing and Merlin.

Everyone is migrating. Overhead, flocks of ducks and geese are flying south. BMW’s migration into temporary quarters is well underway. Building 1 of the Intake Center has become the office for Winnie and me.

It’s tiny, but can also provide space for Tricia and interns Isabella and Kelsi to take shelter during a cloud burst.

Winnie and Tricia reconfigured the ramp to facilitate moving large items out of the clinic like the tool box that holds lots of equipment and supplies.

A cardboard path made moving the toolbox into the temporary clinic much easier.

The temporary clinic is compact and efficient!

Bald Eagle 25-509, a fourth year female eagle, is the first patient to be treated in the temporary clinic. The eagle was struck by a vehicle in the mountains near Ukiah, OR. X-rays showed damage to her hips and an elevated blood lead level of 16.6 micrograms/deciliter. She is receiving supportive care and chelation treatment.