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Uncredited photo I came across of some handsome Duskies.
They're like little gargoyles... In a complimentary way. 😅
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Photo by Cynthia Rand
Here is the first photo I got of this baby Screech Owlet after it fledged the nest.
The babies are really tough to photograph because they never stop wiggling and it's so dark that I have to use long exposure on my camera.
Doesn't he look like a little jellybean?
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From the Ojai Raptor Center
Meet adult Great Horned Owl (GHOW) Patient 24-502, affectionately nicknamed "Skunk-boy" by our hospital staff. Owls, like most other birds of prey, do not have a strongly developed sense of smell. It's not uncommon for us to receive Red-tailed Hawk or Great Horned Owl patients reeking of skunk. At least we can assume they are less bothered by it than we are!
Aside from his skunky scent, 24-502 was admitted with eye trauma and a wing droop. Both are healing, and he has already graduated to an outdoor enclosure where his flight continues to improve daily. As you can see when GHOW 24-502 is not being physically restrained by one of our hospital technicians for an exam as he is in the first photo, he immediately takes a defensive posture of fanning out his wings and looking fierce! As apex predators, these owls need to be in order to secure their place in the ecosystem. 24-502 is obviously pretty good at striking this pose and we can't wait to return him to the wild asap.
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Photos by Ken Grille
On this evening in May watched mother Eastern Screech Owl fly out of her home and land in a tree before going hunting for food for the Owlets. May 2024, Plymouth, Ma.
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From the Owl Research Institute
Happy International Owl Awareness Day!
The Owl Research Institute is dedicated to conservation through our long-term research projects. We study the owl species themselves but also their prey species and their relationship to the habitats where they live. Over 30 years of boots on the ground research and we are still grateful for the opportunity to study these owls in their natural environments, and we continue to learn new things every day!
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Photo by Cynthia Rand
Baby Screech Owl looking over his shoulder on a moonlit gravestone...until he was scared back into hiding by some local kids setting off firecrackers.
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Photo from Grandpa's Den Photography
Pacific Screech-Owl - Megascops cooperi This lovely owl took some finding, didn't seem pleased to have its picture taken, managing to just about open one eye for me. Heard it calling every day, but it took a week of looking to spot it. They are so difficult to spot due to their colouring being so similar to the trees. Guancaste area - Costa Rica. Canon 7d and 100-400mm lens
Found from Mexico through Costa Rica.
It used to be lumped in with the Eastern and Western Screech, but one characteristic that separates it is it has a distinct call.
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Photos from North Sky Raptor Sanctuary
This week features a baby Great-horned owl who has made a remarkable recovery! He came in on April 23rd after falling from the nest. Unfortunately, the fall ended up fracturing his tibiotarsus .
He was scooped up and taken for radiographs to confirm the fx. He was scheduled for surgery on May 3rd with our amazing wildlife vet, Dr. V! She placed an IM pin along with external fixators to help stabilize the bone while it healed.
Follow up rads came 2 weeks later and it was incredible at how well it was healing. It was also time to remove the IM pin due to the fact that babies grow at an incredible rate. Once the IM pin was removed, a follow-up visit was scheduled for May 26th to have the external fixators removed.
Our colleagues over at A.R. K. Association to Rescue Kritters have their surgery suite up and ready to use, so we met there to have this procedure done.
This baby has persevered through his rehab and is now continuing on the road to recovery! He will be with us for awhile to grow up, build up strength and he needs to pass both flight and live-prey testing in order to be successful in the wild. Until, then he and another owl, who came from our colleagues over at ABC Alpena's Bird Center have been introduced to one another for Some company
Some of you have expressed interest in how some of these rescues get treated medically, and this photo collage shows some neat stuff in a not gory way.
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Photo by Simon Wardle
It was super dark in this grove but managed to find this Eastern Screech Owlet not obscured in a pile of leaves and branches.
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From Raven Ridge Wildlife Center
We released a baker's dozen of screech owls, many of which were abandoned, orphaned, or injured fuzzballs.
The rehabilitation of these tiny but mighty owls is not cheap. For example, rehabilitating 13 baby screech owls for almost three months costs us $1755 just for their diet of just mice. Their proper diet, vitamins, supplements and medical care is vital in raising strong and healthy baby wildlife. Your continued support is what helps us help our native wildlife.
Did you know:
- The Eastern screech owl excels in a wide variety of environments.
- They are the most common feathered predators in urban areas.
- Screech owls use tactics like elongating their bodies and swaying to mimic a tree's movement.
- The reason for different color morphs of the Eastern screech owl is unknown.
- The average lifespan of a screech owl in the wild is 3 to 7 years.
- They are preyed upon by various predators, including owls, hawks, and crows. Surviving female screech owls can pass on immunity to West Nile virus to their chicks.
- Eastern screech owls are larger the further north they live.
Hoo's your favorite??
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Photo by Kevin Thurk (Facebook)
Snowy owl sitting on the ground watching the amazing Sunset. This experience was surreal.
Full original image is below. I cropped it for the thumbnail to make the Snowy stand out better.
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This young eastern screech owl is FEISTY, and that is just the way we like our raptor patients.
When birds of all stages of life, but especially young ones, come into our care, we hope to see a little fight in them. As you can see in this video, the young eastern screech owl is not afraid to defend itself from the humans that are handling them with great care. This little one is wearing a wrap that helps keep the bird's wings restrained, and limits the bird's ability to move so we can get an accurate weight.
Because we take all the proper precautions while caring for young birds, we reduce the risk of having them human imprinted or becoming socialized and comfortable with humans. If imprinting or socializing were to occur, they would no longer be able to survive in the wild without having inappropriate behavior toward people, which is unsafe for both them and us.
When a patient in our care makes it clear that they would prefer not having to spend time with us, it is an encouraging sign in their journey to being released back into the wild.
Fun video at the link above if you are not Facebook averse ...
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Photos by Shaun McNaughton
I've described for you before my experiences with owl feathers being much less dense and rigid than I'd have expected, and these photos really capture that. Having some give to them lets the individual barbs move around, decreasing the flapping noise.
This is also likely why they have larger wings for their size than other birds, to make up for the loss of lift for not having denser flight feathers.
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Photo from Dipin Sreepadmam (Facebook)
The little owl (Athene noctua) is a small, charismatic bird of prey known for its distinctive large yellow eyes, spotted brown plumage, and expressive face that seems perpetually stern. Found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, this owl is often seen perched in daylight, a rarity among its nocturnal relatives. Known for its adaptability, it thrives in diverse habitats, from farmland to urban areas. Despite its small size, the little owl is a fierce hunter, preying on insects, small mammals, and birds. Its characteristic call, a series of sharp "kiew" notes, often betrays its presence before it's seen.
