19 baby barn owls returned to the wild
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The following is a news release from the Teton Raptor Center.
JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming — After Teton Raptor Center (TRC) admitted a record 19 Barn Owl nestlings in 24 hours, the race was on to find active nests for wild fostering.
On Earth Day, April 22nd, the last of the 19 nestlings were returned to the wild in active nests in northern Utah. TRC sought information on active nests in Idaho, where the owls originated, but found no suitable nest options. Fortunately Darin Day, an electrician at St. John’s Hospital in Jackson, Wyoming and a lifelong Barn Owl enthusiast, heard the call and offered to help re-nest the owls in Utah.
Barn Owl boxes that Darin started building and installing nearly 40 years ago are still active. After re-nesting eight of the nestlings in northern Utah on April 13th, Darin was contacted by farmers and The Nature Conservancy with enough nest locations for the remaining 11 owls.
Through a process called wild fostering, baby owls and other raptors can be placed into active nests and the parents will raise them like their own. Wild-fostering is the best option, if reuniting them with their own parents is not possible.
Unfortunately for these three clutches, reuniting with their parents wasn’t an option. The 19 nestlings came to TRC on Wednesday, March 29th after Idaho Fish and Game received a clutch of six baby Barn Owls that were displaced from their nest when a hay bale was being moved near Camas, Idaho and thirteen more young owls were also displaced under similar circumstances in Idaho Falls.
The smallest of the 19 owls was only days old and weighed 66 grams when it arrived at TRC and the largest was close to a month old and 535 grams. With permission from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and through partnerships with The Nature Conservancy, and farmers in northern Utah, all 19 nestlings were fostered into wild nests. In one’s, two’s and three’s, owl families throughout northern Utah grew in size. The owl parents will raise their foster babies like their own, giving the young owls the best chance to learn what it is to be a wild owl and survive in the wild.
“After press releases, media coverage, and dozens of calls from members of the public, but no suitable nests found in Idaho, we were so fortunate to be able to transfer the owls to Utah for re-nesting,” said Meghan Warren, Rehabilitation Director at Teton Raptor Center, “Without Darin Day’s knowledge about active nests and his offer to help with the re-nesting effort, we were faced with raising all 19 owls to independence at TRC. That’s why I’m thrilled and relieved that we could get them into wild nests where they will have a much better chance at survival in the wild.”
Barn Owls are a Protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. They are found across most of the lower 48 states and around the world. They nest in tree cavities and on cliff ledges, as well as in barn lofts, haystacks, and other human structures. Most active at night, this species has some of the best hearing of any bird and they are exceptional at keeping rodent populations in check. Because of the elusive nature of Barn Owls, most people may not even know that they have nests on their property.
What to do if you find a baby bird:
– If you find young Barn Owls that have fallen out of a haystack, leave them where they are and notify Teton Raptor Center’s Raptor Hotline: (307) 200-6019 or Idaho Fish and Game: (208) 525-7290, so that a nest box can be placed to keep the birds in the same area and close to their parents.
– Without disturbing the nest, please notify Teton Raptor Center of any active raptor nests to help create an inventory of possible foster nests for future displaced Barn Owls or other raptor species.
– Don’t use rodenticides. The best way to manage rodent populations is through healthy raptor populations. Rodenticides can be lethal to birds, dogs, cats, and other wild creatures.