This summer, on August 4th, we received a beautiful Western Screech 0wl found in Lincoln, MT. This petite predator was found lying under the property owner's fence with a pelvic fracture caused by colliding with that fence. When we went out there to release her, the fence was seen to be pretty discreet, which explains how this occurred. On October 17th, after over two months of TLC, we released this diminutive yet deadly bird back into the wild!
Fence collisions are another frequent cause of trauma we see that can also be prevented by the help of the people who maintain them. Just like window collisions, sometimes our avian friends are unable to see these obstacles and end up caught or injured by them. Highlighting your fences so they are more visible such as with bright colored markers (i.e. ribbons) can help reduce these incidences. Doing this even in intervals throughout the fencing, especially in areas frequented more by birds such as near their preferred tree species or hunting grounds, can make the world of difference for a little bird such as this Screech Owl!
Original pictures were a bit dark, so I brightened them up. I'll give you both.
I love this owl, she looks like she's constantly threatening world domination
Clutching her talons in a gesture like how she would like to clutch the world in her grasp...
"I WILL PINCH YOU WITH THIS TALON! AND THEN THE WORLD!!!" I imagine this in Izma's voice from emperor's new groove
Ooo, her lashes would look great on this owl!
"You really should have thought about that before you became peasants!"