Nelson our Burrowing Owl has moved to a new home!
Over the summer, Nelson was rehomed to Screech Owl Sanctuary in Cornwall. This follows several months of discussion amongst the team as to the best interests for Nelson.
Burrowing Owls are well known for being social birds, often living in groups of up to 10-15 birds on the open grasslands and semi-deserts of America. Nelson has always enjoyed the company of our staff and volunteers, but when we introduced a female called Thelma, we were disappointed that she was shunned. This can happen when birds are hand reared, as Nelson was, because they don’t understand the intricate social cues from members of their own species.
We were concerned that Nelson would forever be a bit of a loner, and now had a second Burrowing Owl who might get lonely. So when we were approached by Screech to see if we had any small surplus birds, we wondered if a change of scenery might do Nelson some good.
He left us over the summer holidays and made the long journey down to Cornwall. Upon arrival, he was placed in quarantine for a short period, which is standard practice for transferring birds between collections. During this time, the team at Screech got to know his little quirks and began to realise how big a personality he has!
Nelson has now settled in well at Screech and been paired with their female, Athene. They have a new aviary to call home and it is hoped that they will breed in the future.
Nelson has settled in well at his new home in Cornwall
Meanwhile, back at SOS, our own Thelma has found love with new boy Templeton, who arrived from a private breeder. The two hit it off straight away (possibly due to both being quite young) and are often seen perched together in their aviary watching visitors go by. We also hope that next year we might have the pitter patter of little Owly feet.
Thelma and Templeton are getting to know each other