Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital – Owls in Towels https://owlsintowels.org/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:39:07 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://owlsintowels.org/content/media/tBNh7to.png Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital – Owls in Towels https://owlsintowels.org/ 32 32 Cutest Little Carnivore https://owlsintowels.org/cutest-little-carnivore/ https://owlsintowels.org/cutest-little-carnivore/#respond Wed, 07 Oct 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4899 A Saw-Whet Owl is wrapped in a cosy seafoam coloured garment, looking towards camera with rich sunflower yellow eyes twinkling from a trio of reflected ceiling lights. A syringe of fluid is administered to his open beak by a human wearing lavender nitrile gloves. It's possible he has the barest hint of a scowl in response to the fluids, but it might just be a stray black feather or two, making it look like a raised bottom eyelid. He's a little pink around the maw, probably from his latest meal of diced + defrosted animal treats, being the little carnivore that he is.

8th of Owltober!

This Northern Saw-Whet Owl has featured before, but this particular photo of him is so good it deserves a post of its own.

Original post – 12 Mar 2024
by Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital

located in Ithaca, New York, US πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

This tiny saw whet owl was found lying in the middle of a busy road on a dark evening a few days ago in Ithaca, NY. Luckily he was noticed by a Cornell faculty member (and bird of prey expert!) that happened to be driving that way. He was gently gathered up in a soft blanket and whisked right to our front door, where our emergency team arrived to provide him with immediate care. Weighing in at only 75 grams (similar in weight to a kiwi fruit!), this owl, although a strong predator in the wild, is a delicate patient that requires extra special care.

Thankfully, after supportive treatments and thorough testing, he is determined to be releasable, and is well on his way to a complete recovery!

Link to donate to Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

πŸ’›πŸ¦‰

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Aegolius acadicusNorthern Saw-whet OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/cutest-little-carnivore/feed/ 0 Donut Startle Me Like That https://owlsintowels.org/donut-startle-me-like-that/ https://owlsintowels.org/donut-startle-me-like-that/#respond Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4522 A Short-Eared Owl is lain upon a white towel folded and formed in the shape of a donut. Her body sits in the hollow, and head is raised with lemon-yellow eyes fixed on the camera: bright rings around wide black pupils. Her beak is slightly open, and if she had eyebrows they'd be raised. She has an overall appearance of shock, somewhere between fright and delight. Feathers are brunette with streaks of blonde, and those around the chin and neck are ruffled by the towel - they overhang the crest of the donut and almost give the impression the owl has a beard. A blue bandage wraps a wing to the side.

Original post – 28 Sep 2025
by Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital

located in Ithaca, New York, US πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

Within the walls of our hospital, we see only one of the many steps that a wild animal often goes through from the time it is first found until it is released back to the wild.

In late November 2024, one of our faculty veterinarians was fortunate enough to participate in many of the steps to recovery for a short-eared owl patient. When she was alerted by a family member about an owl on the ground in the front yard of an acquaintance, she drove over to help. She scooped up the short-eared owl that was laying in a ditch next to the road and brought it to the hospital for treatment of its broken wing.

A couple of days later, she repaired the small bone at the tip of the owl’s wing that was fractured into multiple pieces. After several weeks of healing, followed by several more weeks of flight conditioning at Kindred Kingdoms Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Childs was thrilled to release the bird in the same location where it was found.

In New York State, short-eared owls are listed as endangered. Open grasslands that support populations of the small rodents that these owls hunt are essential for their survival and recovery. The Finger Lakes region, where this owl was found, is an area in NY where short-eared owls tend to concentrate in the winter. Now that it is fall again and migration is underway, we are hoping that this owl is on its way back home to the Finger Lakes!

Link to donate to Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

πŸ’›πŸ¦‰

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Asio flammeusShort-eared OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/donut-startle-me-like-that/feed/ 0 Weight of a Kiwi Fruit https://owlsintowels.org/weight-of-a-kiwi-fruit/ https://owlsintowels.org/weight-of-a-kiwi-fruit/#respond Thu, 09 Oct 2025 08:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=1977 A tiny Saw-whet Owl is cradled upright in a blue towel. Three hands - each wearing the same type of purple nitrile glove - surround the patient and through the power of deductive reasoning we can say at least two people are present. One hand lightly pinches the owl's legs between their fingers, with long pointy talons emerging from the owl's fuzzy toes like fangs.... Fangs of the feet. A stethoscope with a bright-red handle is applied to the owl's chest, looked upon by the owl with cross-eyed astonishment.

9th of Owltober!

Original post – 13 Mar 2024
by Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital – Cornell College of Vet Medicine

located in Ithaca, New York, US πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

The JLS Wildlife Hospital posted this Northern Saw-whet Owl with the following info:

Found lying in the middle of a busy road on a dark evening a few days ago in Ithaca, NY. Luckily he was noticed by a Cornell faculty member (and bird of prey expert!) that happened to be driving that way. He was gently gathered up in a soft blanket and whisked right to our front door, where our emergency team arrived to provide him with immediate care.

Weighing in at only 75 grams (similar in weight to a kiwi fruit!), this owl, although a strong predator in the wild, is a delicate patient that requires extra special care.

Thankfully, after supportive treatments and thorough testing, he is determined to be releasable, and is well on his way to a complete recovery!

Link to donate to Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

πŸ’›πŸ¦‰πŸ₯

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Aegolius acadicusNorthern Saw-whet OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/weight-of-a-kiwi-fruit/feed/ 0 Recovery from Head Tilt https://owlsintowels.org/recovery-from-head-tilt/ https://owlsintowels.org/recovery-from-head-tilt/#respond Sun, 17 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2054 A towel is draped around this owl of 5 months in a grassy outdoor setting. The owl's feathers are lightly pigmented in mostly cream tan and brown tones. He appears to have surmounted his awkward growth phase, but has some residual juvenile fluffiness. His yellow eyes are fixed on the cameraperson and beak is slightly open. The towel is faded or has ever so lightly shaded pastels of green blue and pink. The rehabilitator behind holds the owl's feet: a pair of large fuzzy stompers that look impressively large for an owl of this size.

Original post – 30 Sep 2015
by Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital – Cornell College of Vet Medicine

located in Ithaca, New York, US πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

The patient was found in late July, in a backyard in Lansing, NY. He was in bad shape: thin body condition, his head tilted almost 180 degrees over one shoulder. His rescuers estimated his age at about five months.

The owl, held by a rehabilitator in teal scrubs, looks at the camera with his head severely tilted over one shoulder.
The patient as he arrived

The young Great Horned Owl was brought to the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, in Ithaca, NY. The staff provided supportive care, including fluids, pain medication, nutrition, antibiotics, and anti-fungal medication.

The patient made a speedy recovery. His headset straightened. After his medical condition was stabilized at the Wildlife Health Center, the bird was transferred to a rehabilitator in Syracuse for convalescence. There he slowly recovered. As the head tilt resolved, he started fly and soon after was able to catch live prey.

On a late-September afternoon Alice VanDeMark, a veterinary technician from the Swanson Center, drove the owl back to the location where he was found. β€œAs long as it is a suitable environment with plenty of food and shelter, as in this case, it is advisable to release a young owl back to a familiar area giving him the best potential to thrive,” explained VanDeMark.

The patient did not seem particularly grateful for all those weeks of good care. With the outraged expression customary of owls, he glared at VanDeMark as she carried him to the release site and set him gently on the grass. Once free he sailed away without a backward glance, healthy once again and ready for his next adventure.

Link to ways to give to Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

πŸ’›πŸ¦‰

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/recovery-from-head-tilt/feed/ 0