Some might have read & heard in the media about the flash flooding we had in Gloucestershire today. Not great, not unless your a duck of some description!
There was grid lock on all major roads, horns beeping & people late for meetings or waiting to go home.
During all of this mayhem, we received an important call out in reference to a young Barn Owl that was seen sitting out in the open air, soaking wet. On arrival to the scene we were faced with a sad looking bedraggled figure of a Barn Owl that was sat crouched in the rain on a pile of old pallets, this was on the outside a large empy disused Hay Barn. The problem with this barn was it only had one remaining sheet left flapping on the roof. Under this single loose sheet of tin was an old nest box with young Barn Owls visible at the entrance hole, on approach they all scampered to the back of the nest box.
The Barn Owl seen here couldn’t do that as he was far to wet to go anywhere, he must of left the box after following his parents out for food. On leaving the comfort of his nest box he was soon faced with the intense down pour that was ongoing, something he as never encountered. Looking at the height of the box & ways he could get back in, this was not to be simply because it was out of reach.
With the skies emptying down on him, the poor little mite got drenched right through, this could have been the end of him if the person holding him didn't spot him & call someone for some help. The person holding the Owlet is a member of the public & in our eyes is a pure saint, she even left her leaky roof to help with the rescue of this beautiful defenseless young Barn Owl, a real credit to this kind person!
The young Owlet was brought back to the Barn Owl Centre to be dried out with an hair dryer & fed a full stomach of food, this he ate very quickly. If the rain is less intense tomorrow I will attempt to put him back with his brothers & sisters.
Sometimes our wildlife needs a bit of help & thought now & again especially during the bad weather conditions we have been encountering, we all get affected someway but it becomes sad when a life is lost because of it. For this young Barn Owl he was very lucky, how many have not been so lucky?
I thought it would be good to share this story & image taken at the scene, thanks for taking the time to read this & thank you for viewing.
Vince
I think her expression kinda says, hurry up with the damn photo, we're both getting wet here
Pat on the back for the lady and and well done for rescuing it. I've been out tonight checking nest sites and it's been pretty dissapointing only 1 or 2 chicks where earlier when checked there was four or five and some just containing the odd deserted egg.
Regards
Rob
Posted by Simon Litten on July 20, 2007 at 6:18 PM
Thanks for the kind comments, always appreciated: toast:
I will return with the outcome tomorrow, fingers crossed the weather doesn't mess this up.
If he stays in captivity for just few days then the return will more or less be a no go area. With other Owls this is not normally a problem but with Barn Owlets it is a nightmare, past experiences I have seen this fail miserably.
If he does stay with us he will be placed in an aviary hidden deep in the countryside away from any human interference, the location will be within good supportive habitat where Voles are plentiful, If we go down this route then the release will take time, probably 2-3months, purely because he is young & inexperienced to deal with the wild without having been trained by his parents.
Sorry if I have babbled on a bit & sorry if this post as bent the rules a bit.
Young owls always seem particularly vulnerable to both predators and the weather. Great job done here, the lady is to be applauded. I hope the end result is a good one - keep us informed.
Best wishes
Phil
Visited the barn this evening to put the youngster back into his nest box, this was successful, whilst up there I also added extra perching to allow these younsters (4 in number) to branch out & exercise, this should stop them from falling again.
I also met the farmer this evening, he was a really nice person & very supportive, together we will be working in the future.
By the way, there was a reason for why the barn was in the state it was in, this was because some mindless kids set fire to the hay that was in it.
Must go, I need a Big Mac
This image shows the Barn Owls home
Posted by Vincent Jones on August 2, 2007 at 1:19 PM
Latest Update, 02 August 2007
Image update not for praise but to show how the Owlet is now doing. She & the 3 others have left the nest box & are actively play fighting both in the fields & around the box.
Brilliant to see & even better when 2 of them land on top of the vehicle & jump all over me ladder whilst crapping down the side & the back window.
Any way, this is a shot of the rescued Barn Owlet as the sun disappeared.
Thank you all for sharing an interest in this story. A great ending to
Discussion
17 repliesThere was grid lock on all major roads, horns beeping & people late for meetings or waiting to go home.
During all of this mayhem, we received an important call out in reference to a young Barn Owl that was seen sitting out in the open air, soaking wet. On arrival to the scene we were faced with a sad looking bedraggled figure of a Barn Owl that was sat crouched in the rain on a pile of old pallets, this was on the outside a large empy disused Hay Barn. The problem with this barn was it only had one remaining sheet left flapping on the roof. Under this single loose sheet of tin was an old nest box with young Barn Owls visible at the entrance hole, on approach they all scampered to the back of the nest box.
The Barn Owl seen here couldn’t do that as he was far to wet to go anywhere, he must of left the box after following his parents out for food. On leaving the comfort of his nest box he was soon faced with the intense down pour that was ongoing, something he as never encountered. Looking at the height of the box & ways he could get back in, this was not to be simply because it was out of reach.
With the skies emptying down on him, the poor little mite got drenched right through, this could have been the end of him if the person holding him didn't spot him & call someone for some help. The person holding the Owlet is a member of the public & in our eyes is a pure saint, she even left her leaky roof to help with the rescue of this beautiful defenseless young Barn Owl, a real credit to this kind person!
The young Owlet was brought back to the Barn Owl Centre to be dried out with an hair dryer & fed a full stomach of food, this he ate very quickly. If the rain is less intense tomorrow I will attempt to put him back with his brothers & sisters.
Sometimes our wildlife needs a bit of help & thought now & again especially during the bad weather conditions we have been encountering, we all get affected someway but it becomes sad when a life is lost because of it. For this young Barn Owl he was very lucky, how many have not been so lucky?
I thought it would be good to share this story & image taken at the scene, thanks for taking the time to read this & thank you for viewing.
Vince
I think her expression kinda says, hurry up with the damn photo, we're both getting wet here
Hurray to Vince and the Barn Owl Centre
Poor little thing
Great story mate and what a great women for spotting him, keep us informed on how he got on.
Danny
Pat on the back for the lady and and well done for rescuing it. I've been out tonight checking nest sites and it's been pretty dissapointing only 1 or 2 chicks where earlier when checked there was four or five and some just containing the odd deserted egg.
Regards
Rob
Simon
I will return with the outcome tomorrow, fingers crossed the weather doesn't mess this up.
If he stays in captivity for just few days then the return will more or less be a no go area. With other Owls this is not normally a problem but with Barn Owlets it is a nightmare, past experiences I have seen this fail miserably.
If he does stay with us he will be placed in an aviary hidden deep in the countryside away from any human interference, the location will be within good supportive habitat where Voles are plentiful, If we go down this route then the release will take time, probably 2-3months, purely because he is young & inexperienced to deal with the wild without having been trained by his parents.
Sorry if I have babbled on a bit & sorry if this post as bent the rules a bit.
For me, this image taken speaks a thousand words.
Vince
Please let us know how it all pans out.
Cheers
SteveHL
Best wishes
Phil
A very nice story indeed and an act of kindness that should be very much applauded , well done to the very kind lady.
Kind regards
Andy...
John
Aberdeen
Well done Vincent
Visited the barn this evening to put the youngster back into his nest box, this was successful, whilst up there I also added extra perching to allow these younsters (4 in number) to branch out & exercise, this should stop them from falling again.
I also met the farmer this evening, he was a really nice person & very supportive, together we will be working in the future.
By the way, there was a reason for why the barn was in the state it was in, this was because some mindless kids set fire to the hay that was in it.
Must go, I need a Big Mac
This image shows the Barn Owls home
Image update not for praise but to show how the Owlet is now doing. She & the 3 others have left the nest box & are actively play fighting both in the fields & around the box.
Brilliant to see & even better when 2 of them land on top of the vehicle & jump all over me ladder whilst crapping down the side & the back window.
Any way, this is a shot of the rescued Barn Owlet as the sun disappeared.
Thank you all for sharing an interest in this story. A great ending to