From the Owl Research Institute

The summer of banding continues! Long-eared owl chicks are banded either just before they leave the nest or just after, when they can still be found on branches near the nest area. Parents are still feeding the chicks at this age and will continue to do so until the fledglings are able to consistently hunt for themselves. The bands on each young owl will identify them and which nest they came from, so that if they are ever found again we will know how far they have dispersed! We hope to find some of these owls again over the winter.

All banding, marking and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the US Geological Survey's BBL.

From Bat Rehabilitation Ireland Facebook

Video at the link

The youngest of the barn owls we currently have in care.

This little one was very weak on arrival from Kilkenny. He was underweight and suffering from subcutaneous emphysema. This is when air is trapped under the skin and was most likely the result of trauma caused by one of his siblings in the nest as small puncture wounds were visible.

The air was removed and he is receiving a course of antibiotics. The poor thing is not out of the woods yet but is still strong enough to give a nasty injury with his talons so the blanket is to keep him from doing just that.

Thank you so much to the finder for contacting The Barn Owl Project and to Saoirse Deely and Josh for collecting him and getting him to us.

Featured: Bowie Labyrinth Owl

Came upon some egregious AI owls this week. Most of you enjoyed these previously.

They annoy me because they get mixed in with some potentially good content, but it shows me the feeds don't check what content they put their name on.

The worst is when they title it "Amazing photograph!" or something that attempts to legitimize it.

Which is the best of the worst this week?

Photo by Harold Wilion

You Just Keep Me Hanging On

After already falling to the ground once and making his way back up into a tree, this little barred owl executes a slip and fall, and as he was fluttering to the ground, was able to catch himself on a thin branch. At first, since he knew he was being photographed, I thought it was just a ploy to initiate a lawsuit against the tree and would hire that attorney that's always advertising on TV. He struggled a bit and was not able to right himself, but he let go and fluttered to a lower branch where he caught himself. That's how they learn, and by the next day was capable of making short flights with fewer mistakes. It's so much fun to watch all young animals develop and one of my favorite aspects of photography, because I know without a camera, I doubt I would be spending the hours I do watching nature's wonders like this.

I've sat on this news for a while, but anyone who watched them get born and grow up deserves to see the end of their story.

One of the baby owls has been found to have died from poisoning. As with Flaco, the likely cause is eating poisoned rodents. This is an all too common end for birds of prey, as the poisoned rodents are easy to catch.

Part of my hoped id never hear about the owl babies again after they left the nest, mainly because I knew this would be the type of news it would be. Half of birds don't live to their first birthday. I hope that means the sibling will be safe then.

Whichever baby HH is gone, it was still a joy watching you fledge, and to the other HH, I wish you the best of luck.

Post and Courier 06 JUL 2024

Aside from fleeting glimpses, most of the goings-on in the lives of wild creatures take place out of view of human eyes.

That’s what made the December appearance of a pair of great horned owls in a particular nest on Hilton Head special. That nest happened to have a Raptor CAM trained on it, continuously streaming all of the nest’s activity to anyone with an internet connection. Put in place by the Hilton Head Island Land Trust, the live feed held people from all around the world in rapt attention.

Against the odds, the pair delivered two eggs in the first days of the new year. The parents meticulously cared for the eggs during the roughly month-long incubation period, and two owlets hatched in early February. Both appeared healthy, much to the relief of the legion of online viewers. Two months later, the owlets leapt off a branch and flew for the first time. All were hopeful as the owlets survived each milestone in their young and hazard-filled lives.

Sometime around mid May one of those hazards caught up. It’s believed that one of the young pair is now dead.

Robin Storey, board member with the land trust, said the carcass of a juvenile female great horned owl was discovered in the vicinity of the nest where the pair, identified as HH5 and HH6, hatched. The hatchlings were not banded, so there’s no way to be sure the dead owl is from that nest. But there are several clues that lead to the conclusion, Storey said.

Great horned owls are non-migratory, and while the owl families abandon their nest after the young owls are able to fly, they do stay in the area. The age of the dead bird was another indicator, as were audio and visual clues.

“Everyday I listen to the owls on our Raptor CAM,” Storey said. “I can tell we’re down to only one by listening to the calls. We’re only hearing one owl call. People on the ground say they’re only seeing three (owls). There’s good support that it’s probably one of our owls.”

The owl carcass was taken to the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, where the staff suspected the bird died as the result of ingesting poison. They sent samples to Texas A&M for a more detailed analysis.

“They wanted Texas A&M to get down to the exact chemicals found in the bird,” Storey said, adding that the testing took several months to complete.

The analysis revealed the presence of three different rodenticides, which likely caused the bird’s death. It is suspected the owl consumed rodents that had ingested the poison.

“This is a slow, painful death. It takes days,” Storey said.

Jim Elliott, executive director with the Center for Birds of Prey and Avian Conservation Center, estimated that 50 to 60 great horned are impacted by the rodenticides every year in the center’s service area, which includes South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina.

Owls are not the only species susceptible to rodenticides. The population of bobcats on Kiawah Island, for example, has been threatened in recent years by the newest iteration of rat poison called second-generation anticoagulants, which are more lethal and faster acting than earlier iterations. Storey said that extremely high levels of both first- and second-generation anticoagulants were discovered in the dead owl from Hilton Head.

It’s unknown what fate awaits the sibling owl, or the parents.

“It’s a high risk. They could succumb to the same outcome,” Storey said.

Photo by Harold Wilion [Facebook]

Owls can do the strangest things to entertain themselves. This one here was working on trying to break a piece of wood off the branch, for quite a while. I can't believe how determined he was once he set his mind to the task and put everything he had into it, including some wing action. I think he finally had to give up as he just didn't have enough strength.

Story and photos from Patch 11 JUL 2024

EASTVALE, CA — Riverside County firefighters who rescued an owl from a burning barn in April got to set the young owl free this week after weeks of rehabilitation.

The barn owl, dubbed Archimedes after the ancient Greek mathematician, was released into the same area in Eastvale where firefighters first found him, according to Cal Fire.

"He's all better now, and our firefighters were able to re-release him yesterday evening in the same area he was rescued in! We love a happy ending," the fire department posted on X Thursday.

Firefighters rescued Archimedes from a burning barn in Eastvale in the 8500 block of Hellman Avenue on the morning of April 23. The 5,000-square-foot barn was vacant, save for the owl firefighters discovered inside.

Firefighters wrapped a blanket around the owl to rescue it as they awaited Riverside County Animal Services' arrival.

nimal Services field workers evaluated the owl and took custody of the creature.

"The owl is a hatchling," according to Animal Services spokesperson Arianne Murphy.

The mother was not found, and the young barn owl was evaluated and deemed not injured, so field workers transferred the raptor to a partner wildlife rehabilitation center.

"They will care for the young owl until it is old enough to be released back into the wild," Murphy said in April.

This is not the first barn owl to be rescued by firefighters in Southern California.

In October 2020, the Orange County Fire Authority rescued a badly burned owl during the Silverado Fire. Nicknamed Smokey, that owl has been in recovery for four years after its wings were severely burned.

After spending a year at the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital, Smokey was transferred to the Orange County Bird of Prey Center for further rehabilitation until his new flight feathers and wings could accommodate flight.

According to OC Bird of Prey Center Executive Director Dr. Peggy Chase, "This is why we do what we do. Smokey the owl would have undoubtedly died and suffered greatly had they not rescued him that day."

LEO balancing perfectly on the tip of a branch with its amazing grip strength. Talons grip when the legs are relaxed, so it's effortless for the owl.

Photo by Neil Brailsford

Hiding in trees or bushes with camo clothing certainly pays off sometimes, especially when this long eared owl decides it wants to fly in and land on a low stick very close to me. He was none the wiser I was watching and getting these shots, silent camera with only an increased heart rate noise that could give me away, luckily it didn't !

Photos by Heather Farrell

Young GHO in an old cemetery.

Photo by Patty Dexter

Saw Whet stretching its wings.

Photos by Andrew Hunt

The best thing about photographing the Buffy Fish Owl is that even though they may enjoy perching for a few hours, they do give you a myriad of expressions - Hampstead Wetlands Park, Singapore

Photo by Marius Ceinki Flickr

Photo by Ilanifer

Eurasian Eagle Owl
We are both surprised...
Negev, Israel

Photos by Heather Farrell

I feel like I won the lottery. My kind of lottery any way. After all of these years I've been able to find a whole family of barred owls on my own in an area not too far away in a wonderful neighborhood of sweet people who don't mind me hanging around.

The junior bird nerds named Chocolate Chip a few nights ago and said if I found the others their names are Ninja and Hoot. I think we need one more name!

Photo by Kevin Thurk

Snowy Owl in the setting sun.

From Raven Ridge Wildlife Center

This was a groundbreaking moment for our team at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center. When we received a call from our PA state game warden, Veylupek, regarding a destroyed nest of two baby Barn owls that were trapped in a silo, we knew there was a chance to save them. Thanks to the swift action of the game warden, the two chicks were rescued. This was an unprecedented opportunity for our team to care for and rehabilitate barn owls.

Following several days of treatment and nourishment, the chicks showed remarkable improvement and began to thrive. Collaborating closely with the PA Game Commission and their Barn Owl Biologist, both owls were banded at our center. It was an honor to provide specialized care to these rare and remarkable birds.

Our primary concern has always been the welfare and survival of the animals in our care. The opportunity to renest these owls was our best option to be nurtured by an adult barn owl family, we are offering them a genuine opportunity for a second chance in the wild. They will be closely monitored at an undisclosed location, where they will have the chance to thrive with their new family.

DID YOU KNOW?

Barn Owls and other species of owls have ears that are placed at different heights on the sides of their heads. Their ears face in different directions to give them a better sense of where the source of the sound is without having to turn their heads. Barn Owls have control over the small feathers surrounding their ears and faces, which also helps direct sound into their ears.

When it comes to deep hoots, don't count on Barn Owls, it's best to leave that to Great Horned Owls. Instead of hooting, Barn Owls make harsh, eerie screeches. They'll also make a loud, long hiss if they sense a predator or threat is near.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking information on barn owl sightings throughout Pennsylvania. Field surveys show that barn owl populations have been steadily declining in Pennsylvania over the past several decades. The decline is attributed to the loss of farmland and grassland habitats where the owls hunt for small mammals, and to the loss of secure nesting sites.

Currently, barn owls occupy areas of the state with a high concentration of open habitats such as hayfields, pastures, and meadows. The Game Commission is looking for landowners who currently have barn owls, or have habitat that could potentially attract nesting barn owls to their properties.

From The Raptor Center

Take a good look because these little ones are masters of disguise in the wild!

When we got the call about a nest cavity that was discovered in a grounded tree, we found seven Northern saw-whet owl (NSWO) babies inside. A NSWO mother will have an average family size of five to six hatchlings so seven was quite unuSual. All seven were brought to TRC's hospital where staff was able to save all but one sibling.

While their silhouettes look similar to that of adult NSWOS, juveniles have a distinctly different plumage. They sport a cinnamon belly, an unspotted brown back, and a white "V" between the eyes. Despite the difference in coloration and patterning, these juveniles are no easier to spot than adults in the wild.

Thankfully, these remaining six siblings came away from the experience generally unscathed. They spent 13 days under the care of our expert hospital staff who worked to get each owl's weight up to about 100 grams (give or take a few). For context, that's about the same weight as one stick of butter.

Juvenile NSWOS generally leave the nest around 27 to 34 days after hatching. Northern saw-whet owls are incredibly skilled hunting machines. All six have been successfully released back to the wild to begin their second chances at life.

Photo by Kevin Thurk

Photo by Paul Lally

A juvenile great horned owl is captured dangling in an awkward position after crash-landing high in a small grove of aspen trees. Apparently the ability to fly precedes any skill at landing in the early stages of their development. Somehow I manged to get off just one shot of this most unusual moment, before it flew off to try again.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17293757

A nice flying shot of a Hawk Owl. Most photos I see of them, there just hanging out on a porch, so this is a fun shot to have come across.

Photo by Mike Cohen

Along our way from Fairbanks to Deadhorse Alaska we stayed a couple of nights at Wiseman, a nice halfway point, south of the Brooks Mountain Range in a boreal forest near the Yukon River. We were lucky and spotted a Northern Hawk Owl in a typical perch for this species, adorning the top of a spruce tree near the road. Hawk Owls are very tolerant and this one did not mind us running up and down the road as it changed from one perch to another. It looked beautiful when positioned before the green of the forest. Here it is in a dive, presumably for prey, but which did not end in a meal this time.

From the Owl Rescue Centre

From tiny tot to a big sugar dumpling. We rescued Lakshmi in September last year when she was around five weeks old, she was then soft released on the sanctuary a couple of months later. From the photos you can see how she has transformed into a magnificent young lady. All we need now is for her to find a young man, of which there are a couple of candidates living here.

Current picture, as of July 2024

Photo by Cynthia Rand

Momma Screech and 2 fledglings.

Photos from the Center for Wildlife

If you happen to visit us here at Center for Wildlife this week, you may notice we have a new resident in town! This beautiful Northern Saw-Whet Owl who remains unnamed (don't worry, an official name is soon to come) just moved into our Ambassador Village and is joining us as a member of our resident ambassador team!

This little survivor has come a long way after being hit by a car in late 2023. She was initially taken in and cared for by our friends at Avian Haven before being transferred to us for continued care. She has overcome almost complete paralysis in her legs to the point where she is now able to perch and move around a specialized enclosure built just for her. Northern Saw-Whet owls are our smallest owl species here in the state of Maine and no species better embodies the 'small but mighty' personality better! Our team looks forward to giving this little lady the most possible care in the world during her time in sanctuary with us.