2013 rescues

17 March 2013 - Great Horned Owl.  K. Rain witnessed a young GHOW in the talons of a flying Bald Eagle, which was being chased by a second BAEA.  Both flew over some trees toward Nahku Bay beach.  Rain followed and found the GHOW on its back on the beach, with some Ravens starting to peck at it, no eagles around.  The GHOW righted itself to fend off the Ravens, but then fell over on its back.  Nola Lamken and Mike Konsler helped Rain collect the owl and bring it to town, where Joanne Beierly and Elaine Furbish assisted.  The owl had a bloody puncture in one wing, one droopy eye, and could not hold itself up without support.  Joanne consulted with Juneau Raptor Society and Sitka's Alaska Raptor Center, and the owl was prepared for transport to Juneau. Thank you to Wings of Alaska for flying the injured owl to Juneau!

UPDATE: the Juneau group sent the owl on to the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka.  Their evaluation found it to be malnourished, dehydrated and hypothermic.  They are treating it with heat and fluids, and expect it to recover.  Apparently, no serious injuries resulted from being clutched by the eagle or presumably dropped from some unknown height onto the beach.

UPDATE #2:  The owl is recovering nicely and gaining strength at the Alaska Raptor Center.  Check out this YouTube video of the owl being fed.

UPDATE #3:  The owl made a full recovery and was released into the wild from the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka.

More images can be found in the 2013 album of our photo gallery 

26 March 2013 - dead Bald Eagle.   At 10:30 am Andrew and Joanne Beierly responded to a report of a dead BAEA floating near the Broadway Dock.  They located the eagle in water about 50 feet from shore.  Forty mph south wind and strong tidal currents were moving the eagle westward parallel to shoreline. They received permission to stand on the AML barge dock.  Andrew recovered the eagle body at 11:30am, using a salmon dip net attached to a long rope.  There were no obvious signs of injuries.  The dead eagle was turned over to Sam Reichert at Klondike Park, who will ship it to the National Bald Eagle Repository.

26 March 2013 - dead Bald Eagle.   At 4:35 pm Andrew and Joanne Beierly responded to a report of a dead BAEA on Nahku Bay beach.  They collected the dead eagle, and noticed a wound on its chest, but it might have been due to scavengers pecking at the carcass.  The eagle was turned it over to Sam Reichert to be sent to the National Bald Eagle Repository.  Sam also notified the USF&WS and AKF&G about the two dead BAEA found in Skagway on this day.

10 April 2013 - dead Northwestern Crow.   Rachel Ford at Taiya Inlet Watershed Council contacted K. Rain about a dead Raven at 7th and Main in town.  Rain contacted Samantha Reichert and Deb Boettcher at Klondike Park.  Deb collected the bird, which turned out to be a NWCR.  It appeared to have a broken neck, and had bled out of the mouth.  No bill deformities were seen.  Getting hit by a car seemed the most likely cause of death.  The carcass was in good condition, so it was collected and brought back to Klondike Park. Jessica Willbarger at Klondike Park contacted the Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines because they had been conducting studies last year about West Nile virus in crows, however their study is over and they didn't need any more specimens.  The carcass was frozen and will be sent to the UAF Museum.

9 May 2013 - stunned Pine Siskin.   Joanne Beierly responded to a report of an injured bird at Bev Perry's house.  Bev showed her a Pine Siskin hopping through the grass, unwilling to fly.  Bev said the siskin had struck her window about 5pm, about 3 hours earlier.  When we attempted to capture the bird, it flew into a small cottonwood tree.  Joanne watched the PISI flying among the branches for 15 minutes and decided it had recovered from being stunned.

12 July 2013 - dead Northwestern Crow.  Andrew and Joanne Beierly responded to a report of a dead crow on road at 6th and Main.  Joanne picked up a young (still had a few downy feathers) crow that appeared to have been struck by a car and killed instantly.

8 Aug 2013 - dead Dark-eyed Junco.  Charlotte Jewell found an injured DEJU in her yard.  She put it in a cardboard box and called Elaine Furbish, but when Elaine came by to pick it up, it had already died.

2 Sept 2013 - dead Pine Siskin.  Lance Caldwell found a young Pine Siskin sitting on his front porch.  The bird appeared stunned, so he placed it on paper towels in a small box and took it to Joanne Beierly.  She monitored the bird until it quietly died an hour later.  She put the body in the freezer and will offer it to the Park Service.

7 Sept 2013 - injured Northwestern Crow.  Princess Jewelers contacted Rick Bannerman and Samantha Richert about an injured crow that had wandered into their store.  Rick called Joanne Beierly and Deb Boettcher for assistance.  The bird appeared to have an injured wing and would not fly, but was alert.  It was moved to Joanne's backyard where it was unrestrained but protected from stray dogs by a fence.  The crow was roaming the yard the next morning and clumsily flew over the fence when approached.  It walked across the street and fluttered over a low rock wall.  The injured wing had a couple of feathers out of place but it did not appear broken (was not dragging on ground).  The crow moved out of view into nearby bushes, and presumably rejoined other crows foraging in the area.

7 Sept 2013 - stunned Varied Thrush.   Deb Boettcher heard a hawk-like shriek in her yard, which turned out to be a VATH.  The thrush was flopping around on the ground, unable to right itself.  Deb put it in a box with shredded paper, waited for about 15 minutes, then put it on the ground.  It would take a few steps then topple over, but its wings appeared alright.  Joanne Beierly suggested it might have a concussion.  Deb put in the box again and waited 2 hours before testing its abilities again, at which time it flew low, landed under a spruce tree then walked across the driveway and disappeared into the understory. 

15 Oct 2013 - injured Northwestern Crow.  Joanne Beierly responded to a call from the Police Dept. concerning an injured crow at 5th and State.  She located a crow with a broken left wing.  Worn down flight feathers caused by dragging wing indicated it was an old healed injury.  It was walking about searching for food and quickly moved away when Joanne approached it.  She decided it was able to fend for itself and did not appear to be in pain, so took no further action.  Joanne will continue to monitor crow's condition.

2 Dec 2013 - injured gull.  Heidi Long collected a gull she found lying in the road, and brought it to the police station.  Courtnay Thoe, with Paws and Claws, put it in a kennel in the Animal Care building.  Elaine Furbish and Andrew Beierly examined the bird - it appeared to have a broken wing, was conscious and breathing regularly, but otherwise not responsive.  We think it was a young Glaucous-winged Gull. Juneau Raptor Center was contacted, and agreed to receive it the next morning.  Joanne Beierly added cushioning to the kennel and offered the gull water, but it did not drink.  The next morning the gull was a bit more energetic.  Thank you to Wings of Alaska, who flew the gull to Juneau, where a vet will set the break or euthanize if it cannot be fixed.  

UPDATE:  the break was an open fracture at the elbow joint which involved both the radius and ulna, therefore the gull was euthanized.