June 1998 Volume 2
In This Issue:
It's going to be a fun, but busy summer for the Oregon Raptor Center (ORC). I would first like to welcome our new members and to extend an invitation for them to learn more about ORC by volunteering. We are especially in need of bird care (feeding and cleaning) and fundraising assistance. If you are interested in volunteering, please email us for an information packet.
ORC's board members and other individuals have been working on a variety of projects, summarized in this newsletter. Our chief rehabilitator, as always, continues to be the backbone of our organization, donating an enormous number of hours caring for our educational birds and doing birds of prey programs. With your help, we hope to have a paid assistant soon.
We have put together a great raffle with some exciting prizes -- BE SURE NOT TO MISS IT! They were also able to get almost all the materials we need for our roof repair project, donated by local businesses.
With the help of Ed Hilliard, Kurt Hueller, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), we have finalized our design for the viewing cages at Fisherman's Bend Recreation Site. We hope to begin constructing cages in July.
Community support and involvement is a key ingredient to ORC's success. I am always looking for new ideas for improving ORC and new people to help strengthen our organization, so please feel free to call or write with your suggestions or comments.
A Tribute to Ollie
Stan and Ollie (Great horned owls) were found on the ground at a farm on Hazelgreen Road in Salem by the Beck family in 1990. They came to the raptor center via the Emergency Veterinary Clinic. Stanley's irreparable wing led to their being named by our assistant rehaber, a Laurel and Hardy fan. Efforts to locate the natural parents and return Ollie to the nest were unsuccessful -- a common occurrence for Great Horned Owls, since they are rather casual builders. So Stan and Ollie were raised in captivity by a large paper cut-out of a Great Horned Owl. By the time Ollie was four months old, she was catching her own mice. Then her success rate began to decline and our vet confirmed cataracts. Later, another vetinarian, in Gresham, offered to do surgery, but cautioned that she might not survive. We decided to postpone it as long as she had some vision.
So Ollie and her "little brother," Stanley, made their debut at the Oregon State Fair and went on to become the Raptor Center's most popular educational birds. They matured and Stanley laid eggs, thus destroying my credibility as an owl sexer. Being part of a well-known duet, Stan's name remained Stanley. Ollie went on leave last winter due to declining health. She was indoors and on thyroid treatment, but she and Stan called back and forth and visited on warm days. Ollie evidently threw a blood clot, because one minute she was munching on mice and rearranging her furniture, and the next she was gone. Ollie died on my birthday, and is sorely missed.
ORC's main trailer at Fishermen's Bend has been leaking, so, ORC is planning to build a shelter over the trailer.
A Big Thank You . . .
ORC would like to thank the following businesses for their generous donations of materials and supplies.
Materials Still Needed:
If you are interested in donating materials, funding or time towards completing this project, please contact Mark at (503) 769-2974.
ORC would like to thank the Stayton Bowl and all the participants, and the individuals who pledged money for the event, which raised over $600. Not bad for a day's worth of bowling!
ORC has an active birds of prey education program. It includes presentations at schools, parks, and several other locations.
The presentations feature a variety of live raptor species including hawks and owls.
If you are interested in getting a presentation at your school or organization, please e-mail us at raptor@open.org or write to the Oregon Raptor Center, P.O. Box 452, Mill City, Oregon 97360.
There is a nominal fee of $25.00 per bird and $0.28 per mile from Mill City to help off-set the cost of bird care and automobile expenses.
With a generous grant from the Marion County Community Development Department and the North Santiam Chamber of Commerce, ORC is hoping to begin construction on two raptor viewing cages in the near future. After visiting several other rehabilitation centers and having several design meetings, ORC has finished its design for the viewing cages with the help of Ed Hilliard and Kurt Hueller. The cages will be located at Fishermen's Bend Recreation Site, which is managed by the BLM.
The main design criteria were to provide a comfortable environment for the birds, and to keep the design as simple as possible. Last, but not least, the design needed to provide visitors with the opportunity to view the birds, while minimizing disturbance to them.
Using greenhouse components seemed to be an ideal way to meet these objectives and is already being used at other nearby rehabilitation facilities. Two cages will be constructed with a viewing area in the middle. The public room will be darker than the cages, so the birds won't see the visitors well. We also hope to add other cages in the future.
ORC would like to thank all the organizations, agencies and individuals who have helped get us this far. Now we're ready to make this project a reality. Volunteer assistance will play a key role in the completion of this project. ORC is looking for people who would like to help while learning more about raptors. If you are interested in this project, please email us.
ORC is working with the Jobs Plus Program through the Oregon Employment Department to hire a bird care assistant. The Jobs Plus Program is designed to help get long term unemployed people back to work. ORC hopes to hire a local person from the Santiam Canyon area.
ORC would be responsible for paying a portion of the person's salary and providing the individual with on-the-job training.
ORC would like to thank the following businesses who have already pledged a donation towards ORC's portion of the salary:
(Buteo jamaicensis)
The red-tailed hawk is no stranger to the Oregon Raptor Center. Many of them have been visitors to ORC for rehabilitation purposes then released when recovered. The ones that couldn't be released have been used by ORC for educational programs.
The red-tailed hawk is a large hawk (19-25") usually weighing between two and four pounds with a wing span of 46-58 inches. One of its most recognizable features is a brownish-red tail with a thin dark terminal band and a narrow buff-colored tip. The head, nape and back are dark brown. Its underside is usually buffy-white with brown spots and streaks and a dark belly band. The red-tail has a loud distinctive call: it's a harsh scream that sounds like "kee-ahrr."
The red-tailed hawk's range is vast. Their breeding range extends from Central Alaska through Canada and across the entire United States, south through Mexico and into Central America. Since they are a migratory bird, many of the northern birds move south for the winter, but not all migrate south. Here in Oregon, a good place to view some of these beautiful raptors during fall migration is from Bonney Butte. It lies south of Mt. Hood within the Mt. Hood National Forest.
The habitats which the red-tailed hawk occupy vary greatly. They can live anywhere from alpine tundra to desert. In most cases they prefer open hunting terrain, natural savannas or wooded farmlands. Many times you can see them perched on a fence post or tree branch waiting for a possible unsuspecting rodent to pass by.
Usually red-tails do not begin breeding until their third year. They mate for life and part of the courtship ritual includes the male presenting the female with a snake. The pair builds their nest at the top of a tree out of sticks and lined with bark in wooded areas. They will return to that same nest year after year. In treeless areas, the nest s are located in cliffs or cacti. There are usually two to four whitish brown-spotted eggs laid around late April or May. These hatch in approximately 30 days. It takes approximately four to five weeks before these young hawks can fly from their nest.
A red-tailed hawk's diet includes a wide variety of prey, but most commonly rodents. They also feed on medium sized birds, insects and reptiles such as lizards and snakes.
The Bureau of Land Management
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
U.S. Forest Service
As a member you will receive a newsletter (printed copy), discounts on ORC apparel, and other information about our work and raptor rehabilitation. Your membership can help make a positive difference in the future of Oregon's birds of prey.
Student |
$15.00 |
| Standard | $25.00 |
| Contributor | $50.00 |
| Supporter | $250.00 |
| Life | $1,000.00 |
Please send your name, address and phone number to the Oregon Raptor Center, P.O. Box 452, Mill City, Oregon, 97360. Make checks payable to the Oregon Raptor Center, Inc.
Home |
Our Mission |
Educational Programs |
Meet the Birds |
AdoptARaptor
Support |
Gift Shop |
Calendar |
Newsletter
| Future Plans |
Recent Happenings
Helping Injured Wildlife | Links
| Send us E-mail