Wildlife Hospital Stories

Owl baby rescue

On April 11, a 3-week-old great horned owl baby was found on the ground under a tall redwood tree. Hospital staff observed it for a couple of days to make sure it was healthy. During that time, volunteers went out to look for its nest. About 60′ up the tree, they found an adult great horned owl on its nest with another youngster. Jim McCreary, of McCreary Tree Service, volunteered to climb the tree and reunite the owlet with its parents. This photo was taken on April 16, and shows the young owl settling into its new nest, a donated basket, to replace the nest the youngster had been blown out of on a very windy night. Thanks to Jim, the golf course superintendent who found the owl too close to a fairway, and all the volunteers who helped reunite the owl with its family.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

On January 24, we released this adult female sharp-shinned hawk back to the wild. Her liftoff near the Clayton Library was a marvelous sight, as she took off strongly and flushed a flock of songbirds out of the trees as she rose through the air. The hawk had been found in Clayton at the end of December, unable to stand and with an injured wing. Radiographs showed she had fractured her clavicle (a bone that helps create the shoulder joint.) Injuries like these are especially serious in birds that need to fly well enough to maneuver around trees.

Saw-whet Owl

A northern saw-whet owl was brought to Lindsay Wildlife Museum’s hospital in February after being found on a road near Port Costa. The tiny owl, weighing only as much as 15 quarters, had probably been hit by a car. The finders were surprised to find out the strange-looking thing in the road was an adult owl.

Northern saw-whet owls are not common in the Bay Area and we see few in the wildlife hospital. They can sometimes be heard, but are rarely seen, in the Oakland and Berkeley hills.

The bird had a swollen left shoulder and an injured left eye. After receiving pain medication and antibiotic ointment for its eye for several days, the bird was placed in a large outdoor aviary to make sure it had perfect flight and could find food. All was well and the owl was released back in Port Costa in early March.

Baby White-Tailed Kites Returned Home

A party in Antioch Saturday night was interrupted when a baby bird was blown from a tree and hit the roof of the house.When party-goers went to investigate, they discovered a whole nest on the ground with two more babies in it. The babies — white tailed kites — were brought to Lindsay Wildlife Museum. The next day, a fourth baby kite was found at the site of the nest tree. Sadly, the bird that hit the roof and this fourth baby did not survive.

That Sunday, a volunteer went to the home in Antioch to assess the situation. She sent photos to Traverso Tree Service, who later appeared on the scene to help with an emergency nest return. Hospital staff brought a wicker basket to the site to serve as a replacement “nest.” It took Traverso Tree Service only 23 minutes to secure the basket to the nest tree with the two surviving babies in it.

Today, vocalizations were heard from the tree so it appears all is well with the two baby kites. Thanks to Luis, Jesus and Miguel of Traverso Tree Service for making it possible for these baby kites to be reunited with their parents!

Great gray owlet parented by a visual surrogate

Recently, the museum was contacted by California Raptor Center at UC Davis. They needed help with a great gray owlet that had been found by biologists on the forest floor beneath its nest in the western Sierra.

Biologists examined the tree and determined the nest was not accessible to return the owlet. The next best option would be to use an adult great gray owl as a visual surrogate for the owlet until it is a “brancher” and can walk around and perch on its own. This would minimize the risk of imprinting on humans and increase the chance of a successful return to the nesting area.

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