Photo Shoot - A Legal Method of Shooting Raptors
The Walla Walla Photography Club hosted the 4C’s Photography Convention in Walla Wall this past weekend. BMW provided live raptors for the event. BMW volunteer Toni provided various types of natural perching material and perches so the birds could be photographed in a natural setting. She also took the two photos below.
Great Horned Owl
An injured Great Horned Owl was found by deer hunters near Meacham, OR. Since Interstate-84 was nearby, they assumed the owl had been hit by a car. Sadly, x-rays indicated he had been shot with a rifle. Although no lead is visible in the radiograph, half of the bird’s humerus is gone. There was an entry wound on the underside of the wing with feathers pulled into the wound and an exit wound on the wing’s upper surface with small pieces of bone stuck to the feathers. The force of the bullet’s impact must have put so much torque on the elbow that the ulna was also fractured.
Red-tailed Hawk
Every gunshot bird is heart wrenching, but this Red-tailed Hawk was even more of a tragedy. She was a mature adult weighing 1408 grams. The average weight for a female is 1224 grams. This bird was obviously a very successful hunter. She was struck by eight shotgun pellets. One blinded her left eye. Three fractured her left radius and ulna and damaged her left wrist. The wing was damaged too severely to be repaired.
