Photo by Alan Murphy
Even with its face showing, it's still very hidden!
this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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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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Reminds me of the time late at night when I saw an owl fly overhead and was amazed at what nothing sounded like. No flaps, no rustling, no noise whatsoever. It was freakishly silent - as you would expect for a predator.
They have some really great adaptations. They have longer wings than the average bird, requiring less flapping. I likened this before to a larger cooling fan being able to run at a lower RPM to provide the same CFM, making the fan quieter, which seemed to explain it well to a tech crowd like we have here.
Their feathers are also much less dense and more flexible than other birds, and the trailing edges are fringed to break up the major turbulence to kill sound. Getting to handle owl feathers is one of the most informative things I've experienced in my amateur owl research. If you've never had the chance, I encourage any owl fans to go to a local program where you can learn about owl. They will usually pass around bones and feathers or wings and you can really learn a lot by touch.
Neat-o!