Blue Mountain Wildlife

Blue Mountain Wildlife held its annual open house Saturday. I happened the be the reporter on that day, so I had an excuse to go, though I probably would have gone whether I'd been working or not.
Blue Mountain Wildlife is a raptor rehabilitation center just south of Pendleton. Lynn Tompkins, the director, works day and night to bring many hawks, eagles and even pelicans back to health. There are a number that don't make it, as is the nature of the job. She is an interesting person because her knowledge comes from experiences with the animals, rather than from books.
To the right, Marsha Flamm, who runs a rehab center in Yakima, brought her falconry skills to ooh and awe those visiting BMW. Her hawk, Black Jack, is a Harris's hawk.





This is Bob Tompkins, Lynn's husband. He is with her in every endeavor, though almost always working in the background. I was glad to get a photo of him. Here he is with Flame, the flammulated owl.









Lastly, of course, is Angus, my favorite raptor at the center. He's one of the education birds. The Tompkins take a number of birds that have been healed but are not releasable in the wild to schools, museums and events to teach people about them. He was imprinted to humans as a baby and so prefers our company to those of his own kind. He always seems ready to pose for a great photo.