Banding Barn Owls
Tricia and I and visiting veterinarian Jonit Greenberger traveled to BMW’s Tri-Cities Center and banded 10 young Barn Owls. Michele then placed them in a hack (nest) box. They will be ready to fledge from the box in about month.
Since Tricia and I came from the Pendleton Center, we wore appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), so as not to inadvertently expose birds at the hack site to any infectious disease, specifically Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI, that we may have encountered at the Pendleton Center.
Bald Eagle 23-024
The only high risk species currently at the Pendleton Center is Bald Eagle 23-024. He is responding well to treatment for lead toxicity. He tested negative on admission with the FluDetect screening test for HPAI. On Friday we received the results from the OSU Diagnostic Lab that the PCR test for HPAI (a much more accurate test) was also negative. That means we can safely move him from the Quarantine Building to the Main Clinic.
His damaged wingtip is healing nicely so we have removed his wing bandage. On Wednesday, when we recheck his blood lead level, we will remove the foot bandage. If the halux fracture seems stable, we will leave the foot bandage off. His appetite is excellent and he is eating cut up rat with gusto!
Its Baby Season
It is the time of year when wildlife are having babies. Please call before picking up baby wildlife! Generally they do not need to be rescued. A doe will hide her fawn in a safe place and then leave it to forage for food. The fawn is much safer that way. You are putting it in danger if you try to “rescue” it.
If you find young birds on the ground that appear to be fully feathered, do not assume they are injured if they cannot fly. Baby birds grow very fast. Songbirds are generally full grown when they fledge. Within a few days, their feathers will also be fully developed and they will be flying. Their parents will continue to feed them while they learn to fly.
Raptors take a little longer to develop, but they can often be renested if they end up on the ground. If you have questions, please give us a call. Even though we can provide food for a baby bird, its parents are the best ones to teach it the ways of the bird world!
This young Great Horned Owl ended up on the ground. She was “rescued” and taken to Animal Clinic East in Walla Walla where she received a clean bill of health. Michele returned her to her family on Saturday. Young owls are very good at climbing trees. This youngster would probably have been back up in a tree by the next morning.
