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.
We took advantage of the sunshine today and cleaned and disinfected outdoor enclosures, replaced perching material, scrubbed water dishes, repaired perches, and played musical chairs with birds. Several rehab birds were moved outside to get flight time today since we had 2 releases yesterday that freed up some much needed space! We also rotated a few into larger enclosures so they are one step closer to regaining their freedom. We are pooped.
From Harold Wilion
Poor Grayson.
It's kind of sad to watch the cutest little Screech Owl, Grayson, sitting in his hole trilling away, looking for a mate. He lives in the same area as Betty, a red morph, who's already hooked up with another red morph, that we're not sure, but may be Whitey, who she was hooked up with last year.
Screech owls supposedly mate for life. Until recently, when the only red we would see was Betty, I was hoping she would hook up with Grayson as I would have loved to see how the combo of red and gray would end up, but I guess that just ain't gonna happen.
And now you know what high school was like for me, just sitting in a tree outside the school, trilling away, just trying to find a mate
From Ron Richey
Northern Hawk Owl today in Central Alberta, taken with a Canon R5 and the RF 200-800mm. Second shot is with an 85mm to show how well the 200-800mm does.
From Andrew Hunt
January 2025: Seeing and photographing this beautiful and Northern Hawk Owl became an adventure in persistence for me. First informed about it on Sunday as it was rarely seen in these parts which caused huge excitement in the local birding community, we went every day for periods of 30-90 mins each time, but dipped on it.
Finally, yesterday we were able to spend the morning waiting and arrived at 8am. The weather was inclement and rain was in the forecast for the late morning. We waited for over three hours and need to leave at 11.15am. Nothing! With comments from fellow birders like "First day this week it hasn't been seen"
Then finally at 11.03am it was observed perched on a pole. I ran over and it decided to take flight past me and despite the weather, with a flat background flew past a tree which gave me good contrast for this picture. I was super happy! We drove off, smiling from ear to ear. What an amazing owl! And as we left.... it started to rain.
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
From Jolena Tagg
Golden hour fades into blue hour, and then blue turns to purple? Knocked a photo off my list that I wanted, alpenglow over the mountains with the owls. Also got a shot that I didn't know I wanted or needed, a pastel purple sky as this short eared owl looked at me.
Skagit Co.
Alpenglow: the rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains.
This Eastern Screech Owl was found on the ground in LaPorte this past Tuesday, unwilling or unable to fly. After being rescued he was transported to our center for an exam to determine his lethargic behaviors. After determining that he had no broken bones and no soft tissue injuries, our team conducted a lead toxicity test as well as a test for rodenticide toxicity by checking to see how long it took for his blood to coagulate.
Not only did this Eastern Screech Owl's tests come back with elevated levels of lead of 10.7 ug/dL (should be less than 3.3 ug/dL) but his blood took hours to coagulate! Not only did his blood in the test tube have difficulty coagulating, but the tiny puncture site for his needle stick also had a difficult time clotting!!
Staff was able to utilize QuickStop and pressure on the puncture site to get the bleeding to stop but this is a very real sign that this Eastern Screech Owl had recently ingested a mouse that had been poisoned. For the next two weeks, we will be treating this owl with Vitamin K to help alleviate the rodenticide toxicity. Thankfully, he is already eating on its own and is much more alert.
Most rodenticides are anti-coagulants. They prevent the blood from clotting and thin it until the victim eventually dies from internal bleeding. The time taken for a rodent to die after eating the bait varies from 2 to 12 days. A rodent eating a sub-lethal dose (not enough to kill it) may carry the poison in its liver for several months. Before a poisoned rodent dies it may be caught by a predator which then ingests the poison. This is called secondary poisoning. Creatures which have been killed by secondary poisoning include opossums, foxes, owls, hawks, raccoons, and coyotes. Animals which have been killed by directly eating rodenticide baits include dogs, cats, pigeons and blackbirds.
To contribute to the cost of medical care for animal like this Eastern Screech Owl, who is being medicated for both Lead toxicity and Rodenticide Toxicity, please consider making a donation at www.humaneindiana.org/donate
From Deborah L MacEwen
A few more of this beautiful Owl...I know there is tons of images this year of the Great Grey Owls but we have not seen them for 2 years & might not again next year. They are a favourite of many wildlife photographers as they seem to be as curious about us as we are of them.
They are posers & quite often go about their business especially hunting & flying close to us with not a care that we are in their presence. As a photographer it is such a thrill to be allowed in their world even if just for a short time.
How they fly into & do not get tangled up in the tree branches as well as to manage sitting on top of the flimiest branch is beyond me!
N Saskatchewan Canada
Lol...it hit me square in the teeth the other day, so I just HAD to try my hand. 😂
Video link (smoother playback)
Bathing is important for all animals! We caught Newton towards the end of his bath, and I hope you enjoy this short video of him getting squeaky clean!
Did you know that many animals have their own unique bathing rituals? Birds like Newton use a special oil from a gland on their backs to preen their feathers, keeping them smooth and clean. Some birds take water baths, while others prefer dust baths. Even clever ravens and crows use ants to keep their feathers parasite-free! Cats, big and small, have amazing scratchy tongues with tiny, hook-like spines that help them groom their fur and stay cool. And let's not forget about our furry friends-the classic "wet dog shake" helps dogs get rid of 70% of the water after a bath! Even honeybees have their own grooming routine, cleaning off pollen while they fly!
Some animals even get a little dirty on purpose to camouflage themselves or to attract attention for grooming from others. Capuchin monkeys are known for their unique anointing rituals where they use strong- smelling substances like limes and onions, along with ants and millipedes to bathe with.
So, next time you wish you could skip the bath, remember: a quick shower is way easier than letting birds peck at your skin!
From Erie SPCA
In early December, this beautiful snowy owl was found beside a deceased owl in Brockport. Sadly, it seemed like this owl might suffer the same fate, as it was diagnosed with a severe fungal lung infection called aspergillosis.
In the past, this diagnosis was a near-certain death sentence. But our wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Slote, decided to try a new treatment that had shown promise in great horned owls: nebulizing the owl with an anti-fungal medication.
We closely monitored the owl, providing supportive care and administering the medication. Within a few weeks, the owl showed promising signs of improvement!
As his health improved, he graduated to an outdoor flight cage to increase his strength and prepare for life back in the wild! We're hopeful for a release soon!
From Faisal Hajwal
After genetic testing around 2013, the Arabian Scops was made a separate species from the African Scops, making it a unique owl of the Arabian Peninsula.
From Andrew Demske
Barred Owl out at the evening golden hour scoping out its hunting ground for the night.
Nikon D850 Sigma 150-600mm
From Jim Flowers
More from yesterday's "Owly" outing and some of the closer captures. Remember I am shooting a 600mm zoom telephoto lens with a camera with a 61 mega- pixel sensor in a crop mode of 1.5 so the lens image area in these capture is roughly 900mm and when I say close I am referring to nearly filling the sensor or adjusting the zoom back a bit to maintain an "environmental" composition (added habitat) which I favor over extremely tight crops that so many newbies prefer.
I just happened to catch this owl out of the corner of my eye to my left while all of the others were focusing on another owl much farther out on the right side of the field, kinda of a lucky catch for me. We had a total of 5 to 6 individuals entertaining us. And then it was getting pretty dark, so it was a challenge to keep up with them as it was. Luckily, the owls were chatting away again with their barks, so pinpointing was a tad easier.
All in all, as I noted I got a good solid 30 minutes of shooting until I felt the darkness would hamper quality and color and decided to pack it up.
I still have more to go through. All in all, it was one of the better experiences this season, especially with folks quietly shooting and keeping their movement down.
Sony alpha 7R5, Sony Fe 200-600mm OSS lens, ISO 16000, f 6.3 @ 1/1600sec, Robus Tripod and ProMedia Gear Katana Jr, Gimbal
This expression is to remind us that despite what she looks like, she is not up for cuddles. The fluffy feathers surrounding her beak act like whiskers. Owls have such great distance vision that their close vision suffers. Those feathers help sense things close to her face, like food and hungry owlet beaks.
From DuPage Wildlife Conservation
Our patient of the week is just a short-term visitor, both to Illinois and to the hospital. Snowy owls are winter migrants, and some years show up in greater numbers than others. There have been scattered sightings in the area this winter.
This bird was found near O'Hare airport with some visible bleeding. Upon arrival, clinic staff discovered a wound under the wing and one on her foot. Because we see plenty of raptors with rodenticide poisoning, including snowy owls, we were initially concerned. Bloodwork (red blood cell level and clotting time) and radiographs (X-rays) were performed and thankfully, no significant findings were noted. Both wounds healed quickly and didn't require long-term management.
Snowy owls live in the arctic tundra most of the year and are well equipped for that lifestyle. Dense and plentiful feathers insulate from head to talons. She has been perfectly comfortable with our temperatures, but not so much with her surroundings. These birds are not as used to human interaction and developed areas as our year-round owls are. The open areas around airports or even large parking lots resemble the habitat they know, making these attractive roosting spots. The snowy owls that fly south in search of food resources end up in areas with far more traffic (people and vehicles) that can expose them to potential dangers.
Happily for this bird, she only needed to stay for a week and was already released!
From Richard E
Little Owl wasn't to happy with Woody, woody won the battle of the stump though... A7RV 200-600
From Julie Smith
Today, I had the most wonderful opportunity to visit Moorehead Park in Ida Grove, lowa. This park is known for several owl species, including the little Saw-Whet Owl. I feel very blessed to have photographed my first owl in the wild. A tiny owl with a catlike face, oversized head, and bright yellow eyes, the Northern Saw-whet Owl is practically bursting with attitude. Where mice and other small mammals are concerned this fierce, silent owl is anything but cute. One of the most common owls in forests across northern North America (and across the U.S. in winter), saw-whets are highly nocturnal and seldom seen.
From William Ko
Collared scops owlet
The baby owlet, a fluffy ball of downy feathers, cautiously emerged from the safety of its nest, blinking curiously at the bright, new world around it!
May 24
Telok Blangah, Singapore
Adult Collared Scops for reference:
Hey, it's Superbowl Sunday! Since I don't have the kind of image hookup that anon6789 does, I'm looking thru wikipedia for owls that I dig.
This here's a Sri Lanka bay owl! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka_bay_owl Looks very otherworldly!
Pic by Abhilash Arjunan, licence info here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceylon_Bay_Owl1_Abhilash_Arjunan.jpg
Description: "Sri Lanka Bay Owl Phodilus assimilis at Arippa forest, Trivandrum, Kerala, India on October 2015"
Artwork I saw in a gorgeous mid-century modern home while on a vintage house tour.
Text below says: "Ever since he was an owlet, this Horned Owl has dreamed of flying to the moon. Until NASA finally approves his application, however, he will continue training in the anti-gravitational chamber he has made out of twigs, found string, and pellets."
From World Center for Birds of Prey
Athena the Burrowing Owl lands on a football
The center is having football themed owl enrichment activities to put the Owl back in SuperbOwl!
