SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fundraiser planned to aid baby owl rescue

Baby barn owls are in trouble as a growing number of the critters are turning up displaced or orphaned because their parents are nesting in haystacks.

Barn owls are cavity nesters and used to being around people, and that causes a problem,
Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton, "The majority of baby barn owls we care for come from haystacks that farmers need to move because the hay is sold. And that leaves many of the baby owls homeless."

And saving those chicks is not cheap. Last year, it cost the rehabilitation center $24,000 to feed 80,000 mice to 400 homeless barn owl chicks. To help pay for the feedings, the agency will hold its annual Barn Owl Boot Camp fundraiser from 1 to 3 p.m. April 21 at the Richland Community Center, next to Howard Amon Park.

Anyone interested in helping Blue Mountain Wildlife save the young barn owls can visit its boot camp, mingle with some caged raptors and learn more about their plight, Tompkins said.

For a $55 donation, visitors receive a certificate of adoption, even though their adopted baby barn owl will remain in the wild under the care of either its parents or Blue Mountain Wildlife.

And those who donate any amount may receive a gift of either an origami owl or owl luggage tag. Attendees also will be entered into a drawing for a two-night stay at Sunriver Resort in Bend, Ore.

There is no admission fee.