In this issue:
• Gandalf the Gray Graduates
• Dog Days of Summer Now Come with Birds
• Come to a Hatch-Day Party!
• Family Nature Discovery Day
• June is all about babies...
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 Gandalf the Gray Graduates
As most of you know, we've had a great gray owl for the last four years as a display bird. Gandalf was found starving in early 2005 with a wing badly broken in two places - the wing had partially healed but both fractures were overridden (the ends of the broken bones were not in alignment and were healing partially side by side rather than end to end) and one was close enough to the wrist that he no longer had complete range of motion. He could not fly well.
However, after four years, the bones have miraculously remodeled! X-rays taken in December of 2008 and compared to those taken in 2004 show an amazing difference - we put those radiographs in our February e-newsletter. Since then, Gandalf has proven himself in our 100' flight cage, as well as successfully maintained weight now for weeks strictly on live prey. We decided to release him in early summer, rather than early spring, so there will be lots of prey available as he familiarizes himself with his new territory (where we hope he'll stay!), without the pressures of mate selection and breeding right away.
>> What's next for Gandalf? |
Dog Days of Summer Now Come with Birds
Come support your favorite animal charities the week of June 15th, at WineStyles in South Eugene! Visit Cascades Raptor Center’s display in the courtyard next to WineStyles on the east end of Woodfield Station, 29th and Willamette, in Eugene.
Each day a different Lane County animal non-profit (or two) will be featured - and Cascades Raptor Center will be the star attraction on Tuesday the 16th of June, along with Raptor Ridge wines! WineStyles will donate 10% of all purchases made and 50% of the proceeds from the animal-themed wine tasting to the charity featured each day. Satori Bob, an acoustical duo, will be playing for us from 5-7 pm on 6/16.
>> More! |
 Come to a Hatch-Day Party!
Edgar Allen Crow is 21 this year... Whooeee! And we’re throwing her a party ... Come to Cascades Raptor Center for cake and ice cream on Saturday, June 20th, between 4:00 and 6:00 and give Edgar your best wishes for many more good years entertaining and fascinating the youth of Lane County. We're hoping for a special visit from young dancers with the Upstart Crow Studio!
Edgar (probably a female) came to CRC with Louise when she founded the organization in 1990 - along with a raven, magpie (and yes, we know they are not raptors!), one hawk, two owls, and two falcons. But corvids (the crow family) are highly intelligent, considered by scientists to be among the smartest of birds, as judged by conceptual problem solving and tool using/inventing ability. They are much maligned and thus a great focus for education. Their omnivorous diet is a contrast to the obligate carnivore raptors, and even though jays, crows, magpies, and ravens do eat meat, they either scavenge or hunt using their beak.
>> What's Edgar's story? |
 Family Nature Discovery Day
Cascades Raptor Center invites families to take part in our first Family Nature Discovery Day on Sunday, June 28th, between the hours of 2:00 to 6:00 pm. Families can create colorful, cardboard binoculars to help search for hidden wonders, along with your very own field journal to record your observations during your scavenger hunt on CRC’s wooded, hillside property. Families will follow clues to search for pileated woodpecker holes, sapsucker trees, interesting plants, nurse logs and much more! You can start with the 2:00 handler talk, if interested, and then stay all the way til 6:00 to visit with CRC’s resident raptors - or come any time in between.
Activities are recommended for children between the ages of 4-11 and children must be accompanied by an adult. Cost of activities are general admission to CRC (CRC members receive free admission) and a $2 activity charge for participants. If you ride your bike or hike the Ridgeline Trial to CRC your activity fee will be waived!
Save the last Sunday afternoon every month this summer for a CRC Family Nature Discovery Day ... and enjoy Wildlife Play Hospital in July (7/26) and All About Owls in August (8/30). Hope to see you all!
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 June is all about babies...
We've had an unusually high number of babies in care so far this season - and the baby season is really just getting started! Juno, one of our education birds, is mentoring four great horned owl babies. Usually we see one or two early in the season but, with the generous help of tree climbers, we can normally get them back to the nest. However, with these four, we were unable to locate the nest, the nest was in a dangerous area, or the babies were very emaciated. Coupled with two adults (one badly injured in barbed wire, one found weak and emaciated), our live mice and the 100' flight cage are about to get a workout!
Barn owls seem fairly cyclical ... and this year it’s looking like we’re at the high end of the curve! We’ve got 16 in care. Considering that they can eat as much as the great horned owls (though one-third the size of great horneds, barn owls make up for it in metabolism and activity) - up to 8-10 mice a night each at the peak of their growth - our mouse bill is rapidly approaching $350/week! (Which doesn't include the rats, quail, chicks, and rabbits ...) Then these beautiful birds are next in line for the flight cage. There’s nothing like looking at the end of the 100' flight cage and seeing a line-up of more than a dozen owls sitting on the high perch! Any help sending our needy babies to Mouse University would be much appreciated... You can donate online at www.eRaptors.org, just click on the Donate Now button! (We'll send you a baby picture!)
So far we have only received one screech owl youngster (attacked by crows) and kestrels haven’t even started. We have a red-shouldered hawk nestling just in, whose nest was blown down by today's severe thunder storm, and a sibling killed. I suspect we'll get more orphans of that storm.
We have been consulting with King Estate Winery, a local organic winery and farm, which has had kestrel, screech owl, and barn owl boxes built and installed ... so many of these youngsters will be released into those boxes to help this control rodents. A definite win-win!
Our sincere gratitude for all those members and supporters who have continued to send funds for the birds despite the challenging economic times. We really appreciate you! There is no 'stimulus plan' that covers bird food, unfortunately!
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