** owl find you a home **

i can't believe i forgot to tell the great owl story ....
thanks for reminding my sydney .. here we go..
it is actually being told my my sister-in-law mel .. :)

Hi! For those that have emailed about Hooty, yes, it is an amazing story and yes, we are so happy to have her safe & sound! thank you for your kind wishes!

I received a status update today and she is feisty and mean, which is really good in "raptor" language! She has some bruising on her elbows and they are keeping her a few more days to see what develops. I can call to check in on her.... They will release her back here if she has a quick recovery. It sounds like that will be the case....

While talking about Hooty, they asked if we would be interested in hosting a "foster" owl?? Uhm, YEAH!!! Great Horned Owls don't know or care how many babies they had...if another one enters their "territory" they will take care of it as if it is their own. I guess this is uncommon in the animal and raptor world. I got a call a few hours later asking again if we would be willing to have a foster owl brought in...they would be here between 7-8.

Julie, the director of the center, arrived around 7. Binoculars in hand and birdwatchers in tow, we set out searching for the owls. (They have become much harder to see over the past week or so with the trees in full leaves.) An hour later, no luck. She wouldn't leave the new owl without visually seeing the other mom, dad, or baby. She did show us several instances of evidence of where they were...and feathers of what they ate. It was an education! But no drop. This owl was younger than our Hooty and was unable to fly. He was a crawler and they had to make sure there was an owl connection in the area.

Julie and the little baby owl left, promising to come back around nightfall.

She did, and after about 30 minutes of many eyes looking, they were heading back to the car. They heard baby "clucks" but could not visually see a baby or an adult. Some of us were over by the pond where I had seen them dozens of times...and heard it! The baby called out! We ran!! As Julie was coming up the trail, we were running down. This way! Binoc's in the air...listening, looking, chatting...so many questions! Colman (with no binoc's) and just turned 12 years old, observed the area and said, "there it is." Matter of fact. There she was, sitting on fallen tree debris. COLMAN the HERO!!!! The owl flew to a neighboring tree and waited..........................

We ran back up the hilll and to the baby. Julie took the baby owl out of the cage and let us take pictures of the extra fuzzy baby owl. This one was much younger than Hooty. Then we walked her, neighborhood now in tow, down to the fallen tree. Julie gave us one more photo opportunity, then went to the tree and released the babe. We had to be very quiet. Mission successful. She must feel like a celebrity!!! Actually, I asked her, she laughed!

On the way back, she told us more about the Great Horned Owl and how unique it is. If you ever find an animal in trauma, please don't rely on your city for information. Please call a center that can cater directly to the animal in question, like the Raptor Center. Share this story because you might be able to have an impact later...my Nordy shared his story which ultimately saved our Hooty.

Once home and kids in bed--ultra late!, I spent some time on the deck just listening. I heard the baby clucking and tooting...Julie said a mom Great Horned Owl will provide for all babies in the area. 3 is about the most they can provide for...we have the sibling of Hooty, hopefully Hooty back soon, and now our new foster owl. Listening to what she was saying, I said, "I guess Hooty's tangle was great timing!" She wholeheartedly agreed, it was indeed great timing. They had been looking for a home for this baby Great Horned Owl. We have named this foster owl T"Tooty."

so that is way cool huh?
we are so proud:)

enjoy enjoy
~ maggie ~