Baby owls rescued by power company workers
Published: July 6, 2007
Last week two baby screech owls were safely returned to their home high atop a maple tree, with a little help and generosity from some human friends.
The owls were found next to a construction dumpster near Saint Clare’s Hospital in Sussex within a few days of each other. The first baby found was initially taken to Space Farms.
After the second owl was found, the Avian Wildlife Center in Sussex was contacted. Volunteer Dan Graham came to their aid, thanks to some generous folks at Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative.
“This was kind of a first for us,” said Tom Tate, manager of marketing and member services, Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative.
“It was perfect timing,” Tate said of the rescue coming together. “Just as Graham walked into the office with the owls, the crew had just come back.”
Because the nest was out of reach for any of the available ladders, Graham contacted the cooperative, which is located down the street from the hospital, to see if they could be of assistance.
Mike Thomas and Steve Quinn were dispatched to the scene with a bucket truck.
Graham was then lifted to the nest, located about 24 feet off the ground, where he gently placed the baby owls next to their two siblings.
The parents of the owls kept a watchful eye on the rescue from a nearby tree.
“The best thing is to get the owl back with the family,” said Giselle Smisko, director of Avian Wildlife Center.
Owls need to be with other owls in order to be raised properly, Smisko said.
She said if the owls are raised by humans they will imprint their behavior and start to go toward humans for food, instead of having a natural fear of them. “It can become a dangerous situation,” she said.
“We are so thankful to Sussex Rural,” Smisko said.
Smisko said it is not unusual for the owls to be in suburban areas, and it is not unusual for them to fall that far and survive.
She said that anyone who comes across an injured bird, or one that is too small to survive alone, should call the Avian Wildlife Center for assistance. The Center has been in existence for more than 25 years and is a wildlife rehabilitation facility that specializes in birds.
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