Pink burrito for Eastern screech owl

Original Post – 27 Mar 2021

West Shore Wildlife Center, Pennsylvania

27 Mar 2021

This Eastern Screech Owl came to us earlier this week and is one of the first patients admitted to our updated indoor rehab space! He was sadly clipped by a car and it took a few days for him to get to us. Thankfully the owl is okay other than some missing feathers and an injured eye. His upper eyelid and nictitating membrane (third eyelid) are torn. Thankfully his eyeball itself is mostly unharmed. We were able to clean up his wounds and remove the debris from his eye in short session over the last few days. He is resting comfortably and will see our vet on Sunday to determine the next best steps to help him retain as much vision as possible in the eye.

31 Mar 2021

Last weekend our vets took a look at our Eastern Screech Owl patient… Unfortunately the damage to his eye lid is so significant that even with surgical repair he would not be able to ever close the eye again. The best course of action is to remove the eye. This is the same surgery we did for our other screech owl just a few weeks ago. We are hopeful that this little one will make a full recovery and be released too.

Although this owl lost its eye, it is comforting to know that owls have one of the keenest senses of hearing in the animal kingdom. They rely more on their hearing than their sight, and are able to continue to hunt for prey even without full binocular vision.

For those willing and able please consider helping fund West Shore Wildlife Center at the following DONATION LINK. Your generosity ensures the best possible care for their animal guests.

xo owlsintowels

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Species	Common Name	More info
Megascops asio	Eastern screech owl	Wiki link