Thursday, November 3, 2011

Injured Northern Saw-whet owl


This morning my co-worker who lives in Speonk on a wooded parcel told us he found an injured Screech Owl in his garage yesterday after he finished mowing his lawn (the garage door had been open and he finished around dusk).  He put it in a crate and brought it to work the next day assuming one of his co-workers would know what to do with it.  I went out to view the owl and took a few photos with my cellphone and shared them with Anthony Graves who realized it was not a screech (I've never seen a Screech or a Saw-whet in person) and rather a Saw-Whet which was confirmed by Sibleys.  Someone who has experience with injured wild animals offered to take it to a nearby animal hospital where it would be treated for a broken wing and either released or brought to a facility such as Quogue Wildlife Refuge if it could not be properly rehabbed.  It seemed to be in good health (aside from the wing) when brought to the vet and was hoping around and readily ate a mouse that was provided to it.


Fortunately the bird was found in the garage and was brought to the right person within a decent time frame and will have a second chance at life.  For those of you who don't know what to do when you find an injured animal, never hesitate to contact the Hampton Bays Wildlife Rescue Center  (located at Munns Pond Preserve County Park in Hampton Bays).  They can be reached at: 631-728-4200.  If they cannot pick it up they will be able to tell you what to do with the animal (be it a raccoon, deer, opossum or bird) and where to bring it.


1 comment:

  1. Just read your story about the injured Saw-Whet Owl, he looks very, very much like a Northern Saw-Whet Owl that my wife and I saw this past friday. Come checkout our pictures and video to see what I mean, http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-northern-saw-whet-owl-sighting

    ReplyDelete