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From Victor Carerra:
From what I can tell, these were taken at The Raptors at Vancouver Island. Looks like a place where you can have all levels of raptor encounters.
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From Ronald Milne
Most of the pics I get of these big fellas are in captivity, so it was a nice find for me to see this.
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Photos by Gary Jones
Barn Owls
Thankfully the evening storms and rain around El Barraco stayed away this evening to spend some time photographing the Owls in Jose's fantastic barn set up.
The group get to do this each evening, and after a long day photographing the Eagles in the mountains it was a real nice change.
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In a heartwarming rehabilitation story, six eastern screech owls-Diego, Joey, Howie, Emmy, Gwen, and Dora-were released together after successful recoveries. Each owl came to Owl Moon at different times late last fall and early winter suffering from head and eye trauma. They found camaraderie during their healing process residing together in the same mew. The screechies overcame feather damage through a full molt and formed strong bonds with one another. Prior to release, the staff carefully conducted live prey tests to ensure they were ready for life in the wild.
When the time came and all were healthy, their mew door was left open overnight to let the six loose. Since the screech owls are all young, they could be released in a new territory since this is the age they typically venture out to find their own homes away from home nests. Since they became bonded to one another, it is possible that some will journey together, pair up, and raise families in the near future. Since their release, nights at the Center are full of screech owl calls and responses, a sign that members of the group are not only thriving but also establishing their presence in the area. We hope our new neighbors hang around and have a full life back in nature together!
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Back on July 6th, we took in a young female Barn Owl with what we called the most gruesome injury we'd seen to date: the end of her wing was accidentally severed by a chain saw. The before pictures show a clean cut across the end of her wing and the wound on her side. We did not expect her to survive the ordeal but treated her anyway. We have been reluctant to post about her because many times we considered her future quality of life and thought she would have to be euthanized due to the wing damage. We didn't even name her because we didn't think she would be with us long enough.
Today, we are happy to show you her recovery progress. Look at how well that wing has recovered in the after photos! She still has challenges to overcome, but we are hopeful for her continued recovery. We're so excited to announce that once the weather lightens up, she will finally get to move outside to start building flight strength, do live prey tests, and hopefully push toward one of the most unlikely freedom day releases we've ever had.
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Photo by Jeremy Jonkman
I captured this Image of a barred owl inflight 16 frames after my latest take off post. The owl was flying right at me and landed on a stump less than 10 feet from me trying to catch a squirrel which it missed by inches. This is only about a 15% crop as it eventually overfilled the frame. Taken in king County, hope you all enjoy!
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From Isaac Polanski
I never thought l'd get a chance at a Burrowing Owl in Michigan. It's been 40 years since the last record, with only 3 other records in the state. Once the word was out that one was at Whitefish Point, I knew I had to go. While it was hunkered down throughout the day, at sunset it became active like most owls do. These were my closest looks at a Burrowing Owl anywhere!
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From Freedom First Wildlife Rehab
Edward, the Barred Owl was just fine after his procedure this morning! Come on Edward, finish your molt!
Edward is at Freedom First recovering from an impact injury. No broken bones, but a dislocated shoulder. Between the injury and some feather issues, he can fly, but not well.
This post will go over his feather issue. He molted new feathers, but the protective coating was not coming off, leaving large parts of feather unfloofed.
He just needed to be held still while they used their fingers to break up all the feather sheath that was remaining. They can't use scissors or any tools, as they would damage the feathers.
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Screencaps from video by Leo Buckley
Beautiful Barred owl in the early morning just looking for some breakfast. Couldn't of asked for a better back drop with some of the leaves changing colors already
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From Wild Heart Ranch
Meet stinky! By the way, I've been sprayed in the eyes by a skunk. Yes it feels like he looks. Poor guy. -Annette
I thought of skunk spray as extremely smelly of course, but now I've learned it is a pretty harsh eye irritant as well.
This poor owl, though unable to smell a skunk, still lost out by taking a direct hit to the eyeballs, leaving it unable to fly. Thankfully it was found and brought in for treatment.
The Great Horned Owl is one of the few predators of skunks, due to them having no sense of smell.
Another thing I learned is that skunk spray can, in rare cases, be deadly to dogs. Toxic Skunk Syndrome can occur when a dog ingests skunk spray by being shot in the mouth. The chemicals damage red blood cells and cause a deadly form of anemia.
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Photo by Abhay Kewat
Collared Owlet in India
This is Asia's smallest owl at around 6.25 in /16 cm.
I've seen comments that it calls in all directions, making it a difficult owl to locate by sounds. Here is a video of it hooting all around. It's a pretty cute sound.
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From Steve Kirby
I do believe there are angels among us. For some God puts wings on them, for others he lets their light shine through their spirit and soul.
Saw Whet Owl
Disclaimer: I thought the sentiment of the quote was nice, even though I am not a religious person myself. I hope that isn't an issue to anyone. I know some don't like it, but you can still enjoy the photo itself.
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An orphaned barred owlet is pictured earlier this year after being found at the side of the road by Windy Lake.
From Timmins Today:
SUDBURY (Ontario, Canada) - A young barred owl rescued from the side of the road in late May has been returned to the Windy Lake area to live out his days in the wild.
“It’s a beautiful location with lots of tall pines and cover,” Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre founder Gloria Morissette told Sudbury.com. “It’s a beautiful spot, and not a lot of traffic or people around.”
The young owl took a long road to get to this stage, with a community steward, volunteers from the Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre, Canadian Wings of Rescue and The Owl Foundation contributing to his success.
The owl’s rescue story began in late May, when a community steward found the baby owlet on the side of the road by Windy Lake, alone and dehydrated. It’s assumed that he was pushed out of his nest too early.
“The black flies were just horrendous, and his eyelids were totally swollen from black fly bites,” Morissette said. “He was in pretty dire straits when the gentleman picked him up.”
The owl’s rescuer reached out to the Val Caron-based Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre, who took the young owl in, fed and hydrated him.
Canadian Wings of Rescue volunteer pilot Greg Campbell flew the owl to The Owl Foundation in southern Ontario, where he was rehabilitated over the course of the summer.
“He was raised with other barred owls, which is amazing, so he didn’t have too many people interactions, which is important,” Morissette said, adding that a lack of imprint upon humans is integral to his success in the wild.
Now that the owl is old enough to hunt on his own, Canadian WIngs of Rescue volunteer pilot Maciej Dragan flew him back up to Sudbury last week. Volunteers from Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre returned the owl to the Windy Lake area to live out his days in the wild.
From the person who rescued the owl from the side of the road, those at Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre, Canadian Wings of Rescue and The Owl Foundation, Morissette said there are lots of people to thank for the owl’s successful rehabilitation into the wild.
“That’s what keeps us going, is these positive outcomes,” Morissette said. “Our mandate is to get them back in the wild with a second chance.”
Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre is a completely volunteer-run organization based in Val Caron who rely on public support for funding. Canadian Wings of Rescue is similarly 100-per-cent volunteer-run, and The Owl Foundation is a registered charity which relies on volunteers.
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Finalist from 2024 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards
Sarthak Ranganadhan with "Smooching owlets"
Parents get affectionate, offspring closes its eyes.
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Photo by Dale Bales
I would hate to guess the number of miles I have traveled looking for owls. I love them. But who knew all I had to do was stay home and they would come to me. Taken this morning just off our deck go figure lol.
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Photo by Paul Bannick
After Forest Fires, Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula)
Many owls benefit from periodic fire as long as snags (standing dead trees) are retained. These serve as nest sights, hunting perches and ladders to help young flightless owls climb to safety after leaving their nests. Please keep this in mind when managing post-fire forests.
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From Blackland Prairie Raptor Center
This Fix 'em Friday, we highlight these baby barn owls that were brought to us and recently fledged. When threatened, barn owls lower their heads, spread their wings, and sway from side to side. This stance makes them appear larger and more intimidating to potential threats, and is called dusting. Barn owls also produce a sharp hissing sound that can serve as a warning to intruders, helping to establish their presence and deter potential threats. Together, these behaviors highlight the barn owl's unique adaptations for survival in the wild.
These young barn owls are perfectly displaying this behavior and letting us know they do not appreciate us coming into their enclosure to change their water.
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Photo by Matt Trevillion
Eagle Owl, (Bubo bubo) Liminka, Finland 13/9/24- Very large and powerful owl with obvious ear tufts, deep orange eyes, and finely streaked pale buffy underparts. Active mainly at night, but can be seen perched up on prominent lookouts at dusk, searching for prey. Can be found roosting during the day in shady canopy or caves. Pairs often duet, with the male giving a deep, resounding hoot and the female giving a hoarser, higher-pitched one. Inhabits a wide range of habítats, from forests to rocky canyons, but generally abundant nowhere
Even during their active hours, they still look just as groggy. No wonder I feel such closeness with them!
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