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For owls that are superb.
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US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now
International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com
Australia Rescue Help: WIRES
Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org
If you find an injured owl:
Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.
Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.
Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.
If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.
For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.
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I haven't been inside with any owls yet, but they usually seem pretty quiet once they are in hand when I see them being caught or treated in videos. As you approach them, they will puff up and hiss and click. The hiss is quieter than a cat hiss IMO, but the beak clicking is louder than I first expected.
For the rehab as a whole, it can get a bit crazy. I've mostly been stuck in one of the larger areas with all the squirrels, and while they don't chitter very much as a whole, they are still constantly jumping and climbing and wrestling in their cages, and 100+ squirrels all randomly bouncing around on thin metal isn't a quiet thing, especially after prolonged amounts of time.
I haven't been down in the bird room yet, but I hear it's starting to fill in. They told me the birds used to be up with the squirrels too, but the noise was just too much and was driving everyone insane. A hundred bouncy squirrels plus numerous bird species all going at once in a confined space doesn't sound like the most pleasant environment. 🤯
I've only seen one owl stay inside, and that was just because it was too busy to check him out right away. He ended up not making it, but otherwise the owls seem to go in the outside pens right away if possible.
Not to mention downright cruel. It's like caging a child across the room from a cage full of cotton candy.
I was thinking of the screech owls. It's just their natural call, and it's quite piercing, as you're well aware; does being in rehab stop them from vocalizing? I can't imagine being in an enclosed space with a shrieking screech owl.
I haven't heard a peep out of any of the screeches so far. There was the one that was in a cat carrier waiting to get checked out, 2 in seperate outdoor enclosures that I only ever saw napping, and the 2 education birds I have just plain never seen or heard, but I hear their food disappears quickly, so I'm assuming they are in their shared enclosure. 😄
The first 2 days I showed up, the resident GHO was hooting very beautifully, and him and the new baby GHO being have made noise at me, but not anything loud.
At the place near my job, the GHO is equally moody but content. They also have a screech, and he will ocassionally hang at the very front top corner. I can't tell for sure if he makes happy noises or angry noises at me, but he doesn't move or act bothered. He just chitters and goes back to sleep.
The birds have various sized cloth mesh things they're put in, kind of like a pack and play for babies, but enclosed on all sides. Those are quiet and the birds can still grab on with their feet and can't bonk hard on the sides. I believe it was just the songbirds up with the squirrels, so it's not like they were kept there drooling over unattainable free appetizers.
The small squirrels are in 2 different sized plastic containers, and the older ones are in 2 large sized metal ones. They have lots of room to move around in all the sizes, but they are so fast and jumpy when they play it just gets noisy.
Everyone is content enough and has their particular needs addressed and any special cases are handled on that basis, like Picky Possum, which only eats a very special menu of her choosing. Lots of care is taken to make sure the animals are all getting the minimum amount of stress from us, as stress itself is enough to kill many of the animals we're here to help. I can't stress enough that everything available is done for all the animals.