Mystery Bird
Can you guess what species of hawk this is?
Hint: it is the largest of the 3 species of forest hawks. The answer is below.
A Busy Winter Week
January is generally a slow time of year, but the past week brought a Kestrel, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cooper’s Hawk, a Goshawk, a Northern Saw-whet Owl, a Western Screech Owl, a Great Horned Owl and 2 Northern Flickers. All had serious injuries or conditions. The 2 Flickers died. The Red-tailed Hawk, Saw-whet Owl and Screech Owl had non repairable wing fractures. The prognosis for the remaining 4 is guarded, but we are trying!
Cooper’s Hawk
The Cooper’s Hawk, an adult female, has a dislocated shoulder and additional damage to her left wing.
Goshawk
The Goshawk, an immature female, has a fractured coracoid and dislocated shoulder. We rarely see goshawks. She is the mystery bird above.
Great Horned Owl
Apparently there is a duck hunter who cannot tell the difference between a duck and a Great Horned Owl. The owl was found along the Umatilla River where duck hunter’s had been shooting earlier in the day. Duck hunters commonly use steel shot as lead ammunition is banned when hunting water fowl. Lead is a relatively soft metal and either fragments or deforms when it strikes bone. The two shotgun pellets visible in the radiograph of the Great Horned Owl below are both perfectly round, indicating they are not made of lead.
Annual Membership Meeting Saturday, January 23
Please join Bob and I and BMW’s Board of Directors for the Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Christian Church, 215 North Main Street in Pendleton, Bailey Street entrance.
