May 30, 2008 - Sad news about the male nestling:

The male nestling succumbed to his injuries either over night or this morning. He was found dead on the sidewalk this morning by the building’s custodians. As best we can piece things together based on several reports, he apparently he either moved (of fell) down a level on the fire escape last night and at some point fell to the sidewalk below.

KGW photo/Audubon Society

This is the struggling raptor chick. If you look closely, you can see a problem with his lower beak and his eyes are cloudy and swollen.

Audubon retrieved and necropsied (fancy word for an animal autopsy) the carcass. The nestling had many problems. It appears that at some point he fractured his jaw which accounts for the malformation. In the nest, fractures can occur because of some sort of trauma or they can be associated with nutritional deficiencies.

Employees in the offices that look out on the nest observed one of the parents accidentally landing on the nestling early on and trace some of his problems back to that point. The nestling was also suffering from a protozoan infection known as trichomoniasis. This parasite is very commonly carried by pigeons. Nestling raptors that are fed pigeons by their parents are very often exposed, but those with good immune systems most often fight it off without getting a full blown infection. The young male nestling, already debilitated by his jaw injuries probably had a weakened immune system and therefore developed a serious infection.

The trichomoniasis causes a cheesy plaque in the mouth, throat and digestive tract making it even harder for him to eat. It also probably accounts for his eye problems. There were large areas of necrotic (dead) tissue on his mouth and tongue.

Based on the injuries that we were able to observe, it is very unlikely that we would have been able to help him even if he had been captured alive. We offer our thanks to him for the joy he brought to us during his short time on the planet.

His two sisters are increasingly active today. They are jumping all over the place. Many people have contacted us after not seeing them on raptor cam for extended periods wondering if they have taken their first flights. So far the answer is “no.” However they do seem to be moving up and down the fire escape ladders putting them out of the range of raptor cam.

First flight is very likely to happen quite soon….

June 1, 2008: A few thoughts on the nestling that died:

The announcement that Audubon intended to rescue the injured chick (not possible now since he died on Friday) generated a lot of interesting calls and e-mails, all very thoughtful and respectful I thought. Some people were very relieved that we were going to attempt a rescue. Other people felt strongly that we should let nature take its course. After 15 years of fixing injured birds at Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center, I have to admit that I am not quite sure what the right answer is in these types of situations. I appreciate the diversity of heartfelt perspectives.

From a purely ecological perspective, there was clearly no reason to intervene. The injuries suffered by the nestling were not human caused; they were just part of the natural nesting cycle. As a general rule of thumb we do want to let nature take its course. It is best for the species if the strongest, healthiest and best adapted individuals survive. The fact is that birds are going through similar traumas every day in nests throughout our city…it is just occurring out of our sight and out of our reach.

However, it is also the human thing to do to want to help something that is clearly suffering and within reach. Had the chick survived a few more days, he most likely would have continued to stumble about the ledge begging piteously for food while his parent’s attention was increasingly diverted toward trying to care for his sisters who would have begun to fly. Somehow ignoring this suffering bird, just a few feet away from and entire office full of people, did not seem quite right either. In the end we decided for better or worse that it would be better under the circumstances to check him out. If it was just a simple problem (say a minor overgrown beak that had led to other problems) then why not give him a second chance at life in the wild. If it was something more serious and complicated then at least we could at least put him out of his misery sooner rather than letting him die a slow death on the fir escape. No doubt this was as much for the humans as for the bird---We don’t want people to go looking for injured wild animals, but when a sick or injured wild animal suddenly appears in our midst, generally we don’t just leave it to suffer. In the end nature did take care of itself as is usually the case

One thing that I can say with certainty is the folks should be very careful when the do decide to intervene to help wildlife. Even with the best intentions, it is very easy to do more harm than good. Checking a nest or a den to make sure that the young are all doing ok can cause the parents to stay away (to them you are a predator) and skip critical feedings. It can cause healthy young to jump out of the nest before they are ready. At the Audubon care center we frequently have people bring us nests of burds that they are convince have been abandoned, only to return home and find mom and dad frantically looking of their young. The fact is that feeding schedules and nest visits by parent birds are highly variable and change throughout the course of the nesting season. Often too people find young birds or mammals on the ground by themselves and assume that they are injured or orphaned. In fact it is completely normal for many species to leave their young for periods of time while they forages nearby or care for other young which may also be in the vicinity but not within sight. . “Rescuing” animals in these situations denies them an absolutely critical opportunity to learn their life skills from their parents. If you think you have found an animal which needs help it is always best to contact a licensed rehabber or the Department of Fish and Wildlife BEFORE you intervene. They can provide you with good guidance as to whether intervention is actually necessary and if so how to d it with the least risk to yourself and the animal. Portland Audubon has an Urban Wildlife Hotline available 9-5 every day of the year at (503) 292-0304.