2011 Year End Numbers for TRC Clinic

Species ----------------- No. admitted
Bald eagle ...........................121
American kestrel ...............22
Barred owl ..........................57
Broad-winged hawk ..........23
Cooper’s hawk ...................101
Eastern screech owl ..........15
Great gray owl ..................1
Great horned owl ..............95
Long eared owl ..................8
Merlin .................................11
Northern goshawk ............3
Northern harrier ..............2
Northern saw-whet owl ..22
Osprey ..............................14
Peregrine falcon ..............23
Red-shouldered hawk ....7
Red-tailed hawk .............116
Rough-legged hawk .......4
Sharp-shinned hawk .....24
Short-eared owl ............4
Snowy owl .....................10
Swainson’s hawk ..........1
Turkey vulture ............16
Total 23 species

699 Birds admitted to clinic in 2011

In terms of the number of patients treated, 2011 was a fairly average year for TRC’s clinic. The top 5 species seen were bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks, great horned owls and barred owls. However, the year did bring something new and something old. The “new” was the irruption of snowy owls seen in the U.S.; the clinic saw 10 as patients, compared to the 0-3 usually treated. The something “old” was the number of bald eagles treated for lead poisoning during the early to mid winter. Of the 21 bald eagles admitted from Oct 24-Dec 31, 14 (66.7%) suffered from the toxic effects of lead.