The Hungry Owl Project - Previous Stories

Spring 2004

Orphaned!

Orphaned Baby Barn Owls On Friday evening, March 19, seven baby baby barn owls were brought to WildCare. The owls were found in a tree cavity after construction workers saw the adult owl fly out of the tree. Someone climbed up the tree and removed the babies so that the cutting down of the tree could continue (this is a violation of a federal law that protects our native species - especially during nesting season). While we are grateful that unknown persons brought the owls to WildCare for care, we are saddened that we did not have the chance to put up an owl box nearby so that there would have been a chance that the parents would return to care for their babies in a new location. Because we do not know exactly where these babies were found, we must now try to raise them in captivity. Once the owls are old enough to self-feed we hope to slow release them from some empty barn owl boxes, with the help of property owners, in Marin. We can only hope that the babies will be able to survive on their own especially without having had the care of their natural parents. We make a plea to all tree cutters and construction crews and homeowners: Please don't cut or trim trees before checking for nests. If nests are found the tree should not be touched until the babies have fledged. If hawk or owl babies are found during tree trimming or cutting, please contact the Hungry Owl Project or WildCare immediately before taking further action! The months of January through September are the absolute worst time to trim or cut trees. Please see Returning Baby Hawks & Owls to Nests for more information.

Update on the owlets: All of the owlets have fledged!

The Lucas Valley Barn Owl Family

Lucas Valley residents Toni and Jim have known for several years that barn owls are nesting in a natural hole in the beautiful oak tree that adorns their front yard. Still, Toni, standing by the front window one night, never expected to see small owls raining out of the hole... but that's what happened one night in April. Toni did the right thing and called the Marin Humane Society. When the officer arrived, she not only found the owl Toni had seen fall, but a second owlet was also on the ground. Knowing that baby raptors are not always safe on the ground especially in a residential area, the officer took the owls to WildCare.

Once it was determined that the little owlets were not hurt by their fall, the Hungry Owl Project contacted Jim and Toni and went to their home to see if it would be possible to put the barn owls back into their nest. Unfortunately, due to the location of the nest hole it was pretty much impossible to access. But, Jim and Toni immediately agreed to allow us to place a barn owl box on their tree and to help feed the little ones. The two babies were placed in the box, and because they were old enough to self-feed, all that was needed was a ladder climb each day to drop food into the box. There was hope that perhaps the parents would actually enter the box and feed the babies.

Because the tree is so close to their house, Jim and Toni were able to easily monitor the owl activities. The parents did not enter the box, but continued to care for the babies in the natural nest. They were quite aware there were other owls in the box, and they did take food that we placed on top of the box. After several weeks of care by Toni, Jim and their next-door neighbors, the owls successfully fledged from the box. We think the natural nest hole may have been too small to hold all the babies and perhaps next year Mom and Dad will try out the nest box that we installed. Thank you Toni and Jim for being willing to not only feed these owls, and have the "food" stored in your home, but for your love and appreciation of these wonderful birds.

The Bahia Owls The saga of four baby owlets in a neighborhood Hungry Owl box and a pair of foster owls who moved in next door. www.grizzlydesign.com/owl/. One of the foster owls was almost ready to fledge when it fell from its nest in a palm tree in Inverness. The second owlet, is a bit younger, and fell from a nest high underneath the Highway 37 bridge at Blackpoint. Luckily for the owl it did not fall towards the Petaluma River, but made it over to a residential area where it was found on the ground. A very precarious first flight for both these owls and many owls don't survive their first few days out of the box. These two owls are getting a second chance at life by being fostered out of an owl box - volunteers climb a ladder and place food in the box every night before dark. The older owl, from Inverness, left the box the first night, but is hanging around the area with the babies who were raised in the owl box next door. We hope the parents of these babies may also now be feeding our owlet.