On Friday, June 1, a woman in Orange County, Virginia walked into an abandoned silo on her property and surprised a brood of sleeping Barn Owls. One of the juvenile owls flew into the side of the silo and crashed into the wall before falling to the ground. The woman carefully collected the owl and brought it to a permitted rehabilitator in her area. After monitoring the juvenile Barn Owl for three days, the rehabilitator noted that the owl did not appear to have any lingering damage as a result of the collision, but she also knew that in order for the owl to completely recover, it would need a much larger space to rehabilitate. The rehabilitator delivered the Barn Owl to the Center’s vice president, Randy Huwa, who then transported the owl to the Center on the morning of Tuesday, June 5.
Upon admission, Barn Owl #12-1152 was examined by Dr. Miranda Sadar. Dr. Miranda found the owl to be a little thin and dehydrated but it was otherwise a healthy bird. Because the owl was observed colliding with a wall, Dr. Miranda carefully examined the owl for signs of head trauma, but found none present; however, she did recommend that the owl’s behavior and attitude be observed closely over the next three days in case any signs of trauma were late to present themselves.
August 13 UPDATE
Barn Owl #12-1152 failed at its first attempts at mouse school. After it did not successfully pass the first three nights of live prey testing, rehabilitator Kelli went back to the regular “dead mouse” feeding plan for a few days. Another round of live prey training will be offered later this week.
Read the full details of this owls days in the rehab since its arrival at the link below
http://www.wildlifecenter.org/wp/2012/06/barn-owl-strikes-silo/
