Great Horned Owl Juvenile Rescued from Starving Slowly

Hi everyone, I wanted to share these pictures and tell you how they came to be. This little guy (Great Horned Owl) was sitting on my sidewalk in front of my house. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. So of course I ran in grabbed my camera and took a bunch of pictures Then I started calling every rehab center I could find in the book. Being Saturday all I could do was to leave messages. Very frustrating. 

I had to go to work at the Art Gallery for a few hours. When I got back he was still sitting in the landscape by the front of my house. I tried again some of the numbers for rehab centers. Finally I got a call back from one in Eaton Rapids. She told me how to handle the little guy so successfully getting him in a box we were able to get him there. 

She said he was starving and that was the third Owl that had been brought in in the past few days. I learned that he was probably a late spring baby and was never properly taught how to hunt. His wings were fine but just very thin. They started him on fluids first and then they will feed him mice and rats (uck!) 

Thank God there are people like Louise Sagaert from Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center for people like me and you to be able to take our injured wild critters to. I slept easy knowing that he was safe and taken care of. Have a great day! I know will........Linda Moore

That was a very compassionate story with thankfully, a happy ending. If anyone sees an animal in distress and is unsure what to do, call an expert. For future reference the following is a small list of the local rehabilitators:

• East Lansing, MI ♦ 517.351.7304 ♦ Cheryl Connell-Marsh ♦ birds and small animals
• Lansing, MI ♦ 517-646-9374 ♦ Tiffany Rich ♦ white tailed deer, squirrels, raccoons; Vet. Tech. on center.
• DeWitt, MI ♦ 517.930-0087 ♦ Wildside Rehab and Education Center ♦ birds and small animals
• Eaton Rapids, MI ♦ 517-663-6153 ♦ Wildside Rehab and Education Center ♦ birds and small animals
• Holt, MI ♦ 517-694-9618 ♦ Carolyn Tropp cctropp@aol.com ♦ Waterfowl, small birds and mammals
• Howell, MI ♦ 517-548-5530 ♦ Howell Conference and Nature Center ♦ All wild animals except bats, skunks, starlings, raccoons, pigeons, or house sparrows.
• Bath, MI ♦ 517-819-0170 (day) 517-641-6314 (evening) ♦ Denise Slocum ♦ Small mammals

For a complete list of Michigan Licensed Rehabilitators visit the Michigan Department of Natural Resources at: http://www.michigandnr.com/dlr/

Or to search for a local wildlife rehabilitation group: http://www.wildliferehabber.org/

 You can see some of Linda Moore's artwork at Haze Art Gallery in Old Town on Grand River Ave. and Maple Street Mall downtown Mason. She also received a little more information about her owl:  I had an update from Louise. He made it through the night, he's peeing, and eating. Hallelujah!

I hope when he's recovered you can release him back into your yard.

Good morning Sarah, the latest update is Orlando the Owl is doing very well.  He is still in an incubator but will be put in a regular cage tomorrow.  Louise says he in getting pretty feisty too. Have a great day! 

I never really though of re-releasing the owl. Wouldn't they have to somehow teach him to hunt first?  And do they eat other birds? I wouldn't want him killing off my little subjects. Who would I take pictures of? Ha....

Great Horned Owls eat a lot of rodents like field mice, voles and even skunks. They also eat frogs, toads, and snakes. They hunt at night so most of the time they eat animals that are active at that time. Owls do eat a few birds too. Usually in the spring when they are feeding babies and are having trouble finding enough food. But overall they are a good bird to have in the neighborhood.
Sarah

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