by Susan Hansen & Bill Oberg
On August 7, we got a call around 9:15 am. There was an owl down near the airport. When we arrived we found a baby great horned owl confined in a cardboard box. There was some blood on its beak, and a bit on one talon. The caller, Don, explained that they had been working on a large metal storage building for over a year, and frequently found birds that had gotten in during the night. This morning, though, they found 2 owls, one twice the size of the other. The larger one escaped through an open window. The smaller one tried to follow several times but only managed to hit the wall. When it finally went down they got it outside and into a box. When we arrived at ICU, it was confirmed to be a baby. It was a very feisty bird, and well-fed. On first examination, it appeared to be in good shape.
After a few days under observation in our ICU, and a few test flights, the little one was ready to return to the wild, and - August 7 - we had the honor of releasing him where he was found.
But the video doesn’t finish the story.
After a successful release, the video shows the baby flying off into the distance. What happened next wasn’t captured on video. (darn!) The baby made a graceful landing on a building nearby. We got in the car, deciding to follow as far as we could. He took off again, headed for a stand of trees. As he approached the trees, another bird of similar markings came out and flew by his side. It showed no aggression. I think we reunited parent & child! AWESOME!