A Very Scary Owl

Although Bird Watcher's Digest is not a wildlife rehabilitation center, they get a lot of calls about busted birds and orphaned baby birds in season. This time of year, when the phone rings, it's almost always about an injured bird. There's not a lot I can do for most injuries, because I'm not a veterinarian, and I lack the skills and resources to do surgery or administer medication. So when Bird Watcher's Digest gets a call, they call me, and if I can help I do. Anything badly injured has to go to Ohio Wildlife Center, more than two hours away in Columbus.

This little brown-morph eastern screech-owl was found in the road on December 2, 2013, in Waterford, Ohio, having taken a blow to the left side of its head. That's never a good thing, because owl eyes are very vulnerable, and a good smack can damage the eye or the optic nerve and leave the owl blind.

It spent the day in a cardboard box draped with a towel at the office, and Bill put the whole thing in a bigger box, and brought it home that evening.

When he lifted the lid on the Dunder-Mifflin box the owl was sitting atop the towel! It glared at us and hopped down, trundling like a little old man across my big flatfile. I was fully gloved and prepared, and I caught it quickly. Those talons went right through my batgloves, so it was a durn good thing I pulled my fingers back out of the glove fingers at the last instant. I secured its feet and did a quick exam. Not a bone broken in wing or leg. Hoooray!!

The left eye, however, showed a little red blood in the iris, which isn't good. On the other hand, the eye was intact and not deflated, which is good. The pupil seemed enlarged, which means it probably isn't working right, but that's understandable given the impact it took. The owl would need anti-inflammatory medication, something to help with brain and eye swelling. It would be a couple of weeks before we'd know if it was seeing out of the affected eye and thus a candidate for release. We sent it off with prayers and a lot of hope and love for its future.

Before that, though, I cut some raw chicken breast into strips and handed it one on a forceps. The owl snapped it up and stood with the meat hanging from its bill for several minutes. I left it alone, then thought to turn off all the lights. When I returned the meat was gone. Same drill with a second strip. The third strip it accepted right from the forceps and gulped down. So I left it a dish heaped with chicken breast, which was gone come morning.

The bird looked so much better in the morning, when this video was made. It felt good enough to give me a threat display, which thoroughly traumatized me, it was so very scary. You be the judge. Warning. Not for the faint of heart!

Thankful, as always, that we have a place to take such foundlings. Check out The Ohio Wildlife Center's website . 

These good people take in and care for more than 3,000 injured and orphaned wild creatures each season. If you've got some spare dollars, it's a mighty good place to send them. Thank you!