April 2007
Introduction
It hasn't been too long since we last wrote, but spring has definitely arrived now! Don't quite know yet what baby season will bring, but it looks llike we may not see any great horned owls this year. I keep a chart of the earliest nestlings, each year, for each species - and we're pretty much past the point where great horned owls come in. They nest very early, since they have a long post-fledging dependency period, and they need a lot of practice hunting time while the naive young of other species are abundant. We've had nestlings as early as mid-March and as late as mid-April; after that it's unlikely that they come in simply because they are on the ground, as they can fly and stay out of the way of people! We normally get them when they fall from the old hawk or crow nests that their parents take over, in lieu of the large cavities that are so hard to find. But when a hawk or crow reuses a nest, they'll repair it, and it's just not in the nature of owls to fiddle with nesting material! Normally, if the youngster is uninjured, we just substitute a basket for the faulty nest.
What we still have to look forward to are the barn owls. Usually the next to arrive, the earliest nestling barn owl came in on March 22nd, but more normally they are anywhere from early to mid-April to mid-June! Barn owls are about the only raptor in our area that will double or even triple-clutch (nest more than once in a season), depending on prey availability. We often see them because they've chosen to nest in an inappropriate place - like up in the insulation above the horse arena at the county fairgrounds. So we'll put up a box and move them, usually successfully. Or they come in on a hay truck from northern California or eastern Oregon, where their parents may have chosen to nest between hay bales in a stack that then gets picked up whole and placed on a truck. These always break my heart. Last year, a friend in Wisconsin got a nest of barn owls that had traveled all the way from Oregon!
Kestrels, screech owls, red-tailed hawks and osprey are later - often late May into June and, for osprey where we usually just see fledglings, July. So we are gearing up, raising lots of mice and starting our quail-breeding operation in order to have a good quantity of fresh, nutritious food on hand! Our thanks to the Harris Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Lin Marie, and lots of volunteer labor for getting the new 'breeder barn' up and running!
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13th Annual Earth Day Celebration & Open House
THIS WEEKEND:
We hope that all of you in our area are planning to attend our 13th Annual Earth Day Celebration
Sunday, April 22nd, 10:00 am - 5:00 p.m.
Live music
Family activities
Meet 60 birds from pygmy owls to eagles
Behind the scenes tours
Suggested donations: $2/adults $1/children
Free shuttle from the overflow parking at
Spencer Butte Middle School at 500 East 43rd, 12 - 5 p.m.,
courtesy of the City of Eugene Recreation Dept.
Members - Don't forget the special members-only free preview evening on
Saturday, April 21st, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Sponsored by KVAL, Emge & Whyte, Unique Properties, & Down To Earth.
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Reaching Out by Melissa Hart
I didn’t expect the Adopt-a-Bird program at the Cascades Raptor Center to remind me of the power of a compelling children’s novel, much less of high school Homecoming elections. In the latter, teens cast their vote annually for the comely young man and woman who will reign over the Big Game in rhinestone crowns and fake fur robes. In CRC’s adoption program, wildlife lovers from around the world can elect a favorite raptor to sponsor financially for a year.
Homecoming kings and queens acknowledge their loyal constituency with a royal wave from the parade float. We at CRC print patrons’ names on four-by-four inch laminated cards to hang outside the raptor’s enclosure at our forested compound in Eugene.
This month, as I knelt in the grass at the Center to wipe dust (and the ubiquitous green algae that seems to bloom on anything stationary) from the adoption cards on various enclosures, I noticed something surprising. Our two tiny burrowing owls—shy, plain birds often overlooked even when above ground—boasted more sponsors than any of our other 60 resident raptors.
“Twenty adoptions?” I said aloud. The round, brown owls stood regally in a patch of sunlight, yellow eyes watchful and heads swiveling to gaze at the rows of cards which almost obscured them from sight.
I expected to see this level of public regard for our magnificent Bald eagles with their permanently-injured wings, and for our one-eyed Gyrfalcon who presides grandly and cacophonously over the Center. But burrowing owls?
The two eight-inch birds—Linneaus and Speo, we named them—looked like shy and nerdy candidates blinking in bewilderment at finding themselves unexpectedly in the spotlight. For a moment, I simply stood and stared at them, struggling to comprehend the reason for their popularity. Then, it struck me.
Children’s literature.
A few years back, Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen took an editor’s advice and penned a novel for middle-grade readers. Hoot follows the antics of a trio of kids who fight the development of a vacant lot in South Florida. Their goal? To save a colony of burrowing owls.
Hiaasen typically writes for adults; Hoot marks a departure from his usual environmental mysteries, but teachers, children, New Line Cinema and Walden Media snapped up the story immediately. Now, an entire generation can tell you--thanks to the novel and film versions of Hoot--that burrowing owls are shy, have lopsided ears, and nest in abandoned prairie dog burrows. The biggest threats to their population are farmers who eradicate prairie dogs and developers who destroy underground owl colonies.
As any good novelist will tell you, it’s critical to build rapport between reader and protagonist in order to gain sympathy for one’s story. Hiaasen inspires us to root for burrowing owls from the moment one pokes its inquisitive head above ground in the story. Likewise, we at the Center work to build a relationship between the birds and our community. One of our burrowing owls is glove-trained. CRC’s educators bring Linneaus to presentations at area schools and festivals. There, children gasp and point at the bird’s curved talons, the tiny hooked beak, the comical feathered head that can turn 270 degrees.
There’s something about meeting a bird up close—in person, on film, or on the page—that captures imagination and inspires a desire for greater connection. I stepped back from cleaning the adoption cards and surveyed the two long-legged owls. Linneaus had fifteen cards to Speo’s five. Looking at our glove-trained bird, I could almost see the crown and scepter and hear the chuckling particular to this whimsical species.
In his 1995 essay, Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education, teacher David Sobel questions whether we’re teaching children about rainforest destruction and species extinction at too young an age. Just last week, I jogged past three children who marched grimly down the sidewalk at rush hour, eschewing games of tag and hide-n-seek in favor of waving cardboard signs and yelling, “Stop global warming! Leave your car at home!”
Sobel suggests that we may provide children with more inspiration to become stewards of the Earth when we first allow them to play on it. His first-graders build nests in a field and create cardboard wings; learning about birds is a natural byproduct of play. Hiaasen offers readers both education and humor. In the context of a battle to preserve the environment and fight suburban sprawl, we’re treated to a puckish tale of bumbling patrol officers, fierce child activists, and captivating eight-ounce protagonists.
I suspect the results of this rollicking tale are tangible at wildlife centers across the country, especially at those which offer adopt-a-raptor programs like ours. “I would consider myself a deeply concerned member of the human race,” Hiaasen writes on his official website, regarding his work on Hoot. “I would like my children and grandchildren to be able to grow up in a place where they can always see a bald eagle or a manatee or a school of dolphins—or a pair of little burrowing owls, for that matter.”
I wonder if Hiaasen knows how grateful we are at CRC for his novel, and how we hope others in turn will craft stories about the Northern goshawk, the Peregrine falcon, the tiny American kestrel so that each of our raptors—no matter how diminutive and unassuming—can know what it feels like to be royalty.
Melissa Hart is a member of CRC’s Animal Care and Education Teams. She teaches Journalism at the University of Oregon.
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Volunteer Spotlight
Jonathan Smith has volunteered on the Animal Care and Education Teams at Cascades Raptor Center since July 1999. He’s heard himself called “Eugene’s Teen Volunteer of the Week” on local television, even though he was 36 at the time of filming. He’s collected owl pellets only to have them mistaken for an illegal substance. And he’s watched as University of Oregon security has forbidden his truck —the green Dodge pickup instantly recognizable around town for its telltale stench—on campus if loaded with CRC garbage.
“There’s always something funny happening,” the tall, hazel-eyed 39-year old says of his volunteer position. He notes the dark and rainy evening on which the Center’s windmill went ballistic, the metal arms swiveling manically from one side to the other in a gale. “Louise held the ladder, and I shoved a stick into the thing,” Smith explains. “That fixed it. The stick’s been there seven years.”
He himself has been there eight—the most seasoned volunteer in a crew known for its longevity and dedication to Lane County’s raptors. Several years ago, Smith assumed the position of trash collector. Once a week on his Thursday shift, he loads countless bags of soiled newspaper from chicken and mouse cages, indigestible prey pieces, bleach bottles and cardboard into his truck to take to the dump. He works full time as a graphic artist at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the UO campus, and doesn’t always have time to unload the trash before Saturday—a time-crunch that came back to bite him last year.
“Security told me I couldn’t park behind the museum with a load of trash because it smelled bad,” Smith explains, “so one Friday, I parked far away, by the sports complex. I had my blue tarps pulled over the back, hiding the garbage from sight.”
What he didn’t realize was that he had positioned his truck within full view of hundreds of donors who walked by that day on their way to a dedication for Hayward Field. “My truck smelled like death,” Smith admits. “And there were flies. Lots of flies.”
Now, he either dumps the trash early Friday morning, or rides his bike to campus.
But perhaps the funniest mishap in Smith’s experience as a volunteer occurred courtesy of a bag of three-inch grayish owl pellets he’d collected for the children’s booth at the annual Earth Day Celebration. “I had the pellets in a plastic bag on the dashboard of my truck,” Smith explains, “and I went to get some gas. The dreadlocked attendant looked at me strangely the whole time. Finally, he said, ‘Dude! You got it riding right out front.’
“I looked at him baffled,” Smith says, “and so the guy elaborated.
“‘Your stash, man. You got it riding right out front!’
“Obviously, the guy had never seen an owl pellet. He thought it was marijuana.”
It’s these incidents--along with fond memories of taking his wife out on a first date to pick up 600 pounds of frozen rats and a live baby barred owl--that keep him coming back each Thursday night to volunteer at CRC. If you see Smith helping to bandage an eagle’s wing or nail together a high perch, thank him for his longevity at the Center. But if you see his truck—well, you might just want to head in the other direction.
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New Outdoor Classroom/Amphitheatre!
By the time of our Earth Day Celebration (see above!), we'll have a brand new, large covered area for holding programs, Handler Talks, and summer camp activities. This 20' x 24' by 12' high 'outdoor classroom' has come about in a remarkably short period of time.
Huge thanks to many people and businesses, but first and foremost the following: Rustie Garitty for so generously funding the materials (thank you, Rustie, for years of generosity; we so appreciate your support) and Rick Turner for taking my chicken scratch drawings, turning it into a plan, and absolutely running with it. Also many thanks to the dozens of volunteers (including the wonderful group of Honor Society students from Junction City High School who are rapidly becoming indispensable to our Earth Day activities) who cleared the area, brought in fill dirt, got to play with a baby bulldozer to spread the dirt and level the site, spread gravel, planted over the moonscape, and built it! Special thanks go to Brandt Weaver and Jeff Sogge for their construction knowledge, skills, equipment and help; to Devin Turner, Dan Brillon, who were also clambering around in the mud and on the scaffolding ... and to Sandy Jeness and Brittney Myers, and many others who helped hand things up, move scaffolding, raise walls, and fall in the mud! AND to Tim Greenfield for making the benches. Further thanks to a whole community of folks who donated or discounted materials or services: Peterson Machinery for the use of a mini-Caterpillar, Moshofsky Truss Company for the trusses, Wildish Company for gravel, Conveyor Truck Services for delivery, Nations Mini-Mix for concrete, Action Rental for scaffolding, Lane Forest Products for helping us cover the scars and generate new growth where we removed soil and berries.
I finally gave in to reality and had two tall oak trees removed from the edges of our gravel parking lot - with apologies to the trees! They definitely limited the number of cars we could fit in and also tended to, ahem, jump out at fenders and bumpers. Our very special thanks to Scott Altenhoff and Integrity Tree Service for their donated services in removing them, along with a Douglas fir that was challenging a vintage oak. The fir will be the base of our benches in the new Amphitheatre. Sincere thanks also to Kyle King Tree Service for the removal of the stumps.
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New Mews for our Gyrfalcon!
A 'mew' is an enclosure for a bird of prey and now Nike has a fantastic new enclosure, with a beautiful view out over Eugene. Our gyrfalcon has been with us for two years now and this largest and most northerly of the falcons needed a spacious but well shaded spot for her permanent residence.
Steven Lutz took on this challenge as his project for which he will be receiving a very well deserved Eagle Scout badge. Thank you to Steven for shepherding the project through to completion, leaving no detail undone, and to his crew of fantastic helpers. Our sincere gratitude for financial support from some of Steven's contacts, as well to the Kinsman Foundation for a grant that covered the cost of the materials for this cage, and two more to come.
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Case Report
We received a call from the Oregon State Police on Monday, April 9th, and immediately sent our All Girl Eagle Rescue Team into action! There was an eagle sitting by the river along Highway 126 just outside Florence - apparently unable to fly.
We are grateful that the OSP were able to stay with the bird until we arrived, as there were numerous people who were stopping to photograph her, and who could have potentially tried to approach her, spooking her into a less accessible place - and putting both her and themselves at risk. Kit and Laurin managed to get her (and got a bit muddy in the process) just as it looked like she was going to be able to take off well enough to land in the water - but better muddy than having to go swimming, they both agree!
This was a very emaciated, probably female, adult bald eagle that had obviously been injured some time ago. There were multiple, scabbed-over wounds to her feet, upper left leg and abdomen, chest, and face, as well as an abscess on her sternum and a possible severed tendon in the 'finger' area of one wing. She had been down, unable to stand, probably because of the wounds on her legs and feet, I imagine, and had caked feces all around her vent and under-tail feathers, with resulting sores. As a mature female and with a brood patch, our best guess is that she was the loser in a territorial dispute with another female eagle. By the age of the wounds, however, it was clear that any eggs would not have survived in the nest - unless the male (bald eagle males do share in incubation duties) filled in the gap and the 'winning' female stepped in and took over. The bird is eating well, gaining weight, and except for the abscess, which we opened and cleaned out, we're leaving the wounds pretty much alone to continue healing, with the help of antibiotics. The primary concerns at this point are one wound that penetrates into the sinus area on the face and the tendon on the wing. Stay tuned!
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Happy Spring to you all!