The First Baby Barn Owls Have Arrived
Repairs were being made on a grain elevator near Eltopia, WA. Holes in the elevator were being boarded up to keep pigeons from roosting inside when the owl nest was discovered. Volunteer Ken transported seven young Barn Owls to BMW’s facility near Benton City where they will be raised using the method known as hacking, a process that mimics the behavior of the parents when raising young.
The owls are good-sized, ranging in weight from 200 grams to just over 500 grams. Michele, a master at raising baby owls, divided the owls into two groups, putting similar sized owls together. Raptors start incubating their eggs as soon as they start laying. There is a two to three day space between the eggs which means they hatch out over a two to three week period. As soon as the owls can swallow a whole mouse, about one month of age, they will be moved outside to a nest box. These owls are all large enough to swallow a whole mouse, they just need to learn that white mice are just as tasty as the rodents brought by their parents. It won’t take long.
Winter Has Changed To Spring… Again
Business picked up this week. One Western Screech Owl, two Barn Owls and three Red-tailed Hawks were admitted at the Pendleton Center, in addition to the seven Barn Owls at the hack site. The Screech Owl died from its injuries. One of the Red-tailed Hawks had non repairable wing fractures and was euthanized. Another hawk had been shot. Its right leg and foot could not be repaired and it also was euthanized.
Red-tailed Hawk 18-032
The third Red-tailed Hawk admitted this past week appears to have been hit by a car. She is missing feathers on the top of her head - looks like road rash, has just two tail feathers and fractures in her pelvis. She also has the beginnings of a brood patch, an area on the abdomen and lower chest where the feathers are plucked in order to facilitate incubating eggs. Amazingly, she is able to stand and eagerly eats cut up food. Hopefully, she will make a full recovery.
Barn Owl 18-030
This Barn Owl was found along I-84 near Stanfield, OR so presumably was hit by a vehicle. The radiograph indicated it had been struck on the right side. Although he initially favored his right leg, the owl is now quite feisty and eating at least six mice a day. He will soon be ready for a test flight.
A Really Sooty Owl
When we received a call about an owl trapped in a chimney, I have to admit, I was expecting to see a Screech Owl when I opened the box. Instead, there was a very sooty Barn Owl inside.
After a bath…
And spending the night in an incubator where he could dry off, he almost looked like a normal Barn Owl the next morning. He even ate two mice in the incubator. We were told he spent “several days” in the chimney. He’s under weight, but after a week or so of all the mice he can eat and the opportunity to take baths on his own, he should be ready to go back to Yakima and find his mate.
Barn Owls are cavity nesters. This owl was very likely looking for a place to nest and checked out the chimney. Make sure your chimney has a spark arrester over the opening. It prevents sparks from escaping and cavity nesters like barn owls, screech owls and kestrels from entering!
