Last month, we received a number of Little Owlets from across the area.
The first to be brought to us was named Christian Bale, after the unfortunate circumstances in which he was found. Christian was found dangling by the neck from some baler twine wrapped around a bale of hay. The farmer who found him had already moved the bale from the field and was about to unload the trailer when he spotted poor Christian. He was brought in to us with a bit of a sore neck, and was treated with some pain relief and tasty morsels of food. The farmer returned to his field and checked for any signs of the nest, but was unsuccessful at locating it.
A few days later, we received a call from someone local to us, who had found two Little Owl chicks in a churchyard in a sorry state. They were brought in and quickly assessed. Unfortunately, they were both suffering from flystrike and starvation, which suggests that they had been abandoned by their parents, possibly after the nest was disturbed. It took three members of staff over two hours to clear the poor chicks of maggots and fly eggs. They were then given some food and placed in the same cage as Christian, who immediately began preening them and found some maggot that had been missed (Little Owls do predominantly eat insects). These two were fondly nick-named Maggot and Flea.
These three settled in well together, when a fourth Little Owl chick was brought in. This was found far away from any suitable nesting area and covered in mud, suggesting that it had been taken from the nest by a predator, then dropped. Thankfully, it wasn’t injured and once cleaned up joined the other three to create a foursome.
We had already decided that they would be perfect candidates to be hacked back into the wild, and had a few options available to us. Someone local allowed us to install the hack box on the edge of their garden, and was happy to provide them with food. They were moved to their new home and given a few days to acclimatise before the door was opened, allowing them to explore their surroundings. Three of the four left under the cover of darkness but one has remained nearby and is currently enjoying the free meals that are still being provided. It is hoped that given time this one will also disperse and move to a new area nearby, and not be reliant on humans for food.
