Subject: [Tweeters] Good Intentions- Wanapum State Park Long Eared owlet
Date: May 22 18:58:27 2011
From: J. Acker - owler at sounddsl.com


In response to my email updating the status of the LEOW family, I received
several emails that stated that one of the young had fallen from the nest
earlier and was on the ground. The DFW was contacted, and the young LEOW
carted off to a rehab center.



While the world is full of good intentions, as my father used to say, "the
road to hell was paved with them." The adult LEOW were and are, still in
attendance of their nestling(s). They can do a much better job of raising a
LEOW than any rehab center can possibly hope to (and considerably cheaper).
I do not understand why DFW took the bird away, unless it was injured.



It is COMMON for young owls, particularly those that use stick nests, to end
up on the ground after leaving the nest. This is perfectly natural. The
young at this stage are "branchers", and are capable of pulling themselves
up trees using their beak, talons, and wings. The remaining young LEOW at
Wanapum is a testament to this. It was up in a Ponderosa Pine maybe fifty
feet from the nest tree, and is unable to fly.



So, as a learning experience for the Tweeter community, the most appropriate
response for a "downed" owlet in this case near a known nest with attendant
parents, is to either leave the bird alone to do its thing, or if there is a
predator around, place the bird on a tree limb several feet off the ground.
In the case of the Wanapum owlet, we did the bird a disservice by sending it
to a rehab center (unless of course there was an injury to the owlet.)



J. Acker

owler at sounddsl.com

Bainbridge Island, WA