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?
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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!
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 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?
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 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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