We received another call from the
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors hotline yesterday.* So we packed up the equipment and headed to Morris to pick up a downed owl. This was our second owl for this summer.
The first was a Barred Owl in a backyard in Yorkville. It was an easy capture and delivery. The bird had neurological damage and could not be released, but was going to become part of a live display at Willowbrook or another similar wildlife center. Maybe the girls and I will get to go see it soon.
Yesterday's call was for a young Great Horned Owl at a residence in the country. The yard was fantastic habitat for owls with a stream, pond and lots of huge old Oak trees. I really hope the owl can go back there when it gets all fixed up, but it didn't offer much resistance, which isn't a good sign. Hopefully we'll have news some time next week. Aren't those eyes amazing? It was a little unnerving to have it swivel it's head to watch my every move.
*Have I ever posted about this before? If I haven't, the short version is that a friend (the same one that decided we needed a snake) talked us into joining the trained responders for CBCM. If there is a downed bird in my county, people call the hotline and then I get a call to go pick it up and relay it to the
Willowbrook Wildlife Center, where it can be evaluated for treatment. We are the only responders in our county, and since we are so far from Chicago, there aren't too many calls. So far, all of the calls have been for large birds of prey and geese (which we don't usually waste gas money on, unless it is putting people in danger).
We missed getting to go after a Turkey Vulture while I was in CA. Fall migration is coming though, so we'll see what happens.
