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From John Crooks
Sat there minding my own business when for no apparent reason a little birdie bites me!!
Superbowl
4568 readers
214 users here now
For owls that are superb.
US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now
International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com
Australia Rescue Help: WIRES
Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org
If you find an injured owl:
Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.
Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.
Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.
If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.
For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.
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From Star Mail
Fresh calls to take greater care on Victorian roads with a Greater Sooty Owl recently needing life-saving treatment at Healesville Sanctuary’s wildlife hospital.
The threatened species with soulful eyes and sharp talons suffered a head trauma, suspected of being hit by a car at Gembrook south-east of Melbourne.
A wildlife carer rushed the large nocturnal bird to the Sanctuary’s Australian Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC) where it received a full medical check including X-Rays, eye examination and blood tests upon arrival.
Healesville Sanctuary veterinary nurse Chris Stitt said they needed to rule out rodenticide poisoning which was the main reason for the blood test.
“We found the owl was straining one of its eyes due to corneal damage. But thankfully, we didn’t find any fractures,” Mr Stitt said.
“It is not a species we see often, so it was quite an exciting moment to be up close to such an amazing bird that’s considered endangered in Victoria. In my seven years working at the wildlife hospital, I haven’t come across one before.”
The greater sooty owl was provided a quiet, dark place to recover in the new Raptor Rehabilitation Centre while it received fluids, anti-inflammatory medication and pain relief.
Seven days later, wildlife carers released this beautiful species back to the wild where it was found at dusk.
Greater sooty owls are a medium to large owl species that stand about 40-50 centimetres tall.
They are listed as endangered under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and listed as least concern with a decreasing population on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Threats to their survival include habitat loss and fragmentation, rodenticide poisoning and road trauma.
Chris admits seeing this wildlife patient serves as a good reminder to take extra care when driving at dawn and dusk because that’s when so many of our native species come out and explore.
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From Carl D Walsh
A fledgling barred owl takes off with a big meal clutched in its beak, a present of its parent, perched above. Shot in a Pinellas County, Florida park.
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From Kevin Lohman
The young Great Horned Owls are learning to fly, but they need lots of practice. One owl made it to a branch on a eucalyptus tree, but landed upside down. It hung there for a moment before releasing the branch and heading to a nearby cypress tree.
Santa Cruz, California
The other week, baby GHO at work took off and hung like this from the cyclone fence roof when it didn't like me going into its favorite corner to clean up. It looks like they're in a tough predicament, but it just seems to be a thing they do. They're strong enough to hold on, and they can flap well enough to land when they let go.
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Striped Owl
Costa Rica, March 2025
Wow, what a beauty. I'm familiar with the Spectacled and the Crested Owls of Costa Rica, but not so much the Striped. The triple black of the beak, eyes, and ears looks really good.
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From Wildlife Aid
Little owls are very much the Jekyll and Hydes of the owl world, if they don't look adorably cute and innocent, they're glowering, as if judging you for every decision you've ever made in life!
Our first of the season, now, obviously, nicknamed "Jekyll", was found by a spaniel on a footpath. With scan of the area revealing no obvious nest site, Jekyll will have to remain in care until he's old enough a. strong enough to fend for himself.
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From Izzy Edwards
Red/Rufous morph of the Western Screech Owl
Like their close relative, the Eastern Screech-Owl, Western Screech-Owls display a range of color morphs that tend to vary by region.
Pale gray individuals are more common east of the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas, while darker brown morphs are typically found to the west of these mountain ranges.
Among these variations, the red morph is exceptionally rare and largely absent from standard field guides. One of the few documented sightings appears on the blog Sitkanature.org, which features a red morph individual observed in Sitka, Alaska.
Evidence suggests that this unusual coloration may occur in coastal areas of Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. However, due to its scarcity, the red morph is not well recognized among ornithologists, and very little information is available.
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From Weekly Times
A biological rodent control initiative founded by a Sunshine Coast local was crowned this year’s winner of The Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program, taking home a massive cash prize.
Biological rodent control initiative Owls Eat Rats was crowned this year’s winner of The Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program, taking home a massive $50,000 cash prize.
Founded by Sunshine Coast local Alastair Duncan, Owls Eat Rats is a landscape-level initiative that supports barn owl populations as a natural, long-term solution for rodent control in agriculture.
Through the installation of nesting boxes, hunting roosts and ecological monitoring, Owls Eat Rats promotes “the return and ongoing presence of these native predators in farming landscapes as an alternative solution to rodenticide”.
Mr Duncan said many farmers were forced to use environmentally damaging poisons for rodent-control because they can’t access other options.
“The most widely used are anticoagulant rodenticides that are really harmful to the environment and not great for our food,” Mr Duncan said.
Australia’s rats have also developed a “genetic resistance” to many chemicals used by farmers, Mr Duncan said.
“They’ve got this genetic immunity to these really toxic poisons, so the only response is to double down on more poisons,” he said.
“So the efficacy is dropping but the concentration of these chemicals in our wildlife is going up.”
As an alternative, Mr Duncan’s initiative builds “beautiful, safe habitats” that draw owls to farmland.
“They [control rodent populations] the natural way and it’s a year-round protection,” he said.
On Wednesday, June 25, Mr Duncan was one of nine founders of six start-ups who went head-to-head in a competitive pitch event held at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
After what Mr Duncan called “a privilege and fantastic opportunity to engage with like minded change-makers,” in the program, Owls Eat Rats was awarded the grant.
“Winning is mind-blowing and the money is huge, but the actual program itself was amazing,” Mr Duncan said.
“We came in with this beautiful idea and some great research, but we walked away with all these amazing contacts and a 12-month plan for how to bring this idea forward.
“Even if we didn’t win the prize, we would be so well placed for what comes next.”
Taronga Conservation Society Australia chief executive officer, Cameron Kerr AO said he was “incredibly impressed” by the calibre of this year’s Hatch cohort, especially Owls Eat Rats.
“Each of the start-up founders offered thoughtful and practical solutions to some of the most urgent environmental challenges,” he said.
“We’re excited to see where [Owls Eat Rats] goes next, and we’re immensely grateful to our donors for backing early-stage ideas like this.
“With their continued support, we can help turn groundbreaking thinking into lasting environmental impact."
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From Lamacus Lewis
OMG another so called "nature photographer" can't you people just leave me alone."
Cape Coral, FL
Canon EOS R7
Sigma 150-600mm C
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From A Place Called Hope
You ever wonder what happens to donated fake Christmas trees? Orion, resident Northern Saw Whet Owl, demonstrates
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From Robby Villabona
In my almost nightly walks to search for civets I occasionally run into other night creatures. It was my first time to see a Philippine scops owl in the wild and it didn't seem to care being photographed at close range. It stayed on its perch for close to an hour and was still there when I left to go home.
I'd been hearing their calls around our village since 2021 but never had the luck to find one until last night.
Tagaytay City, 22 May 2025
OM-1 + M.Zuiko 40-150 f/2.8 Pro + MC-14 1.4x teleconverter + Nitecore MH-40 Pro ISO-200 1/200s f/4 210mm
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From Martin Buckley
I'd make a terrible hitman.
Spotted every single time by a Little, Short Eared & Barn Owl!
Luckily the only thing i would ever shoot a bird with is a camera and lens.
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From Izzy Edwards
Great Gray Owl photographed in Idaho. One of the only times I have seen this species in ID.
I don't know much about Idaho. I know they have potatoes, and now I know they've got giant owls. I'm very happy when I've got plenty of both of those things...
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From Dr Abhijit Bagui
Oriental scops owl
Nikon D 500,200-500
F7.1,1/640s, iso 350,750mm, natural light
Sundarban
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Good morning friends!
Spotted this fearless little Asian Barred Owlet soaking in the morning light near Rong Tong Station. Always a treat to see an owl that's so comfortable in daylight!
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From Lavin Photography
Shoutout to the dads balancing three screaming kids and one desperate attempt at inner peace.
Eastern Screech Owl family (minus mom since she's buried deep among the leaves).
Minnesota
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From Gavin McCue via International Owl Center
An incredible photo of a little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher mobbing a Barred Owl. Most birds hate owls and if they see them, they will dive bomb the owls, sometimes actually hitting their head. Photographer Gavin McCue says he just happened to be in the right place at the right time and had a very high shutter speed to capture this.
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Feed me!
Can you see that the mother owl has actually shut her third (protective) eyelid known as the nictitating membrane because her owlet has gotten so close to her eyeball with that huge baby beak?!
I wanted to show you in the other photos how incredibly delicately she feeds the baby despite it's big beggarly ways!
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