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Who shot this Osprey? That's what wildlife and law-enforcement officials want to know after the adult female raptor was found mortally wounded on Monday in northwestern Oregon. Shortly after the photo was taken at the Audubon Society of Portland Wildlife Care Center, the bird was euthanized because its injured wing was beyond repair.
A resident of St. Paul, a small town southwest of Portland, called the Audubon Society Monday after finding the Osprey on the ground below its nest. Audubon sent a volunteer, who captured the bird and brought it to the society's Wildlife Care Center, where it was examined and x-rayed. A wing was twisted 360 degrees, and x-rays showed shattered bones and a small-caliber bullet in the wing.
"I've been doing this for 15 years and have seen a lot of injured birds, but it's always a shock when an x-ray comes back and you see a bullet," says Bob Sallinger, the society's conservation director. "How someone can shoot a big beautiful bird that doesn't cause anyone any problems is mind-boggling."
Law-enforcement officers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland are investigating the shooting.
The Osprey's nest is located high on a power pole, and her mate flew back and forth to the nest while the Audubon volunteer captured her. The volunteer could not see young in the nest, but it's likely that eggs have hatched because most nesting Ospreys are feeding chicks by now. Sallinger says Audubon will monitor the nest in hopes that the father will be able to raise the young.
Sadly, the case is not an isolated incident. The bird was the latest victim in a string of disturbing crimes against birds in the state:
• A male Osprey was euthanized after being found last Friday with a gunshot wound in Turner, a town southeast of Salem.
• In April, another Osprey from the Salem area had to be euthanized after being shot.
• A Great Horned Owl and a Red-tailed Hawk died in April from gunshot wounds in Gresham, east of Portland.
• In April, Audubon released a Red-tail after it spent three months recovering from multiple gunshot wounds suffered in Beaverton.
• Eleven Red-tails and one Bald Eagle were baited and poisoned in April near Prineville in central Oregon. All 12 were found dead in a field. At the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Audubon posted a $1,500 reward for information in the case.
"I have a freezer full of birds with metal in them," Sallinger says. "Things have really gotten out of control. And we're only seeing a very small sample of what's happening."
He does not think that the recent incidents are related to the killings of hawks and falcons last year by members of roller-pigeon clubs, which we reported on in our February issue. For one thing, pigeon fanciers are "lying low," he says, and he points out, Ospreys eat fish, not pigeons.
He also notes that different forms of ammunition were found in the Ospreys, suggesting that the shootings are not the work of one person.
Sallinger says the recent spate of crimes should prompt Congress to adopt a bill introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) that would increase penalties for the intentional killing of protected birds from a misdemeanor to a felony.
"It only has 12 cosponsors right now, which isn't enough," Sallinger says. "We really need Congress to pass this into law so people who kill birds have to spend time behind bars." — M.M.
Past coverage of raptor killings:
Thousands of hawks and falcons die as pigeon fanciers "shoot, shovel, and shut up"
An outrage against hawks and falcons
Hawk killer charged with felonies
Read more about DeFazio's bill from the Audubon Society of Portland.
Great Blog! I have been selling real estate in Bend Oregon since 1981 but just started birding a few years ago. We are lucky enough to have a nesting pair of Lewis Woodpeckers in a nest box in our back yard. It was installed by Dean Hale of the East Cascades Bird Conservancy. Good birding!
Posted by: Jim Johnson CRS | July 11, 2008 at 12:09 AM