Fourth of July Bald Eagle
The Fourth of July was a busy day. Admissions included a Red-tailed Hawk, a Swainson’s Hawk, two Cooper’s Hawks, an American Kestrel and a fledgling Bald Eagle. Apparently the young eagle ventured too close to an Osprey nest and was driven into the water by a protective adult Osprey. The young eagle hadn’t been flying very long and probably wasn’t as agile in the air as the Osprey.
Fortunately, the eagle does not appear to be injured. The plan is to let her put on a little weight - she is about 20 percent underweight - and then return her to Chelan for release.
Weekly Numbers
It was another record-breaking week with admissions reaching 638 for the year and 67 for the week including 42 raptors: 14 Swainson’s Hawks, 13 Cooper’s Hawks, 6 Red-tailed Hawks, 5 American Kestrels, 2 Great Horned Owls, 1 Western Screech Owl and 1 Bald Eagle. Most were youngsters, prematurely brought to the ground by record-breaking heat. One exception was an adult Swainson’s Hawk whose blood lead level was 29.3 micrograms/deciliter. After one course of chelation the lead had dropped to 12.4 micrograms per deciliter.
Tiny Hummingbird
There were some nonraptors this week too. This tiny hummingbird was unable to fly. After two days of cage rest he was able to fly. Now we have to work on eating while hovering.
