Great Horned Owl – Owls in Towels https://owlsintowels.org/ Fri, 16 Oct 2026 10:09:39 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://owlsintowels.org/content/media/tBNh7to.png Great Horned Owl – Owls in Towels https://owlsintowels.org/ 32 32 Entangled Owl Gets Lucky https://owlsintowels.org/entangled-owl-gets-lucky/ https://owlsintowels.org/entangled-owl-gets-lucky/#respond Thu, 15 Oct 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4958 A Great Horned Owl with feet ensnared in a net is cloaked in a white towel and held by a Sarvey rehabber indoors. One plumicorn is flat, the other a little puffy, and both are tucked under the towel. The owl has girthy talons the size of door handles, not that you'd want to handle them. The rehabber wears a Sarvey-branded tee, and with one blurple-gloved hand holds the owl's leg; the other is unseen, presumably behind the towel and scooched under the owl's bum. The owl looks like she's been through a struggle, with narrow pupils like she's possessed and Tubular Bells is about to play. But we all know the spookiest thing here is Nets Left Out After Dark. Which segues to picture no.2, the 'before' shot . . .

16th of Owltober!

Wildlife entanglements are an all too common event. When hunting in the dark owls can fail to see the strings of the nets and get caught. I’ve bookmarked far too many owls trapped in garden nets, soccer nets, and in this case, the net of a high school batting cage.

Prior to being rescued, a dark feathery shape is caught in the string mesh of a high school batting cage. The Great Horned Owl is silhouetted and backlit by early morning sun, legs high and wings low, and, despite being upside down, she's able to turn her head to camera with a level head. The pipe-frame cage has the classic diamond-shaped chain link on the outer walls and a similar shape for the inner string net, although with the wide depth of field it all kind of blends into one. The owl has an exasperated face and slightly drooped upper eyelids, as if to say "Well, well. Look who decided to show up."

While this owl was lucky to survive unharmed, the outcome is frequently much worse: severe cuts, loss of circulation, broken bones, extreme stress, or starvation, any of which can be fatal.

And it’s so so easy to avoid.

How you can help: Use small-mesh netting birds can see, or take nets down and store them safely when not in use.

And this Owl-o-ween, please refrain from decorations like synthetic spider webs and opt instead for naturally-sourced materials like paper or cloth.

On to the story of this lucky GHOW…

Original post – 15 May 2023
by Sarvey Wildlife Care Center

located in Arlington, Washington, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

Patient of the Week – Entanglement Rescue – this Great Horned owl was discovered early this morning caught in the netting of a batting cage. Staff at the high school in Lake Stevens reported the situation and our staff arrived to rescue the owl. She was taken to the wildlife hospital to be examined. Fortunately, she was found to be healthy and free of any injuries. She was able to be released late this afternoon back into her territory!

Link to donate to Sarvey Wildlife Care Center for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/entangled-owl-gets-lucky/feed/ 0 How This Owl Feels About Nets https://owlsintowels.org/how-this-owl-feels-about-nets/ https://owlsintowels.org/how-this-owl-feels-about-nets/#respond Fri, 09 Oct 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4917 An ornery Great Horned Owl is seated in a white towel on the lap of a rehabilitator wearing thick gloves and a light grey-pink top emblazoned with the West Sound wordmark. The owl's expression is the highlight, with eyebrows at perfect 45 degree angles. His pupils and irises are half moons, staring up at the photographer with immense fury like he's the lead role in The Shining. Clack Nichowlson of course. The rage is somewhat softened by an unkempt bunch of feathers flared atop his crown like the tines of a mangled spork. A highly menacing spork, but a spork nonetheless.

10th of Owltober!

Original post – 02 Dec 2018
by West Sound Wildlife Shelter

located in Bainbridge Island, Washington US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

This Great Horned Owl came to us after being trapped in bird netting.

Link to donate to West Sound Wildlife Shelter for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/how-this-owl-feels-about-nets/feed/ 0 Big Recovery for Great Horned https://owlsintowels.org/big-recovery-for-great-horned/ https://owlsintowels.org/big-recovery-for-great-horned/#respond Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4773 Draped in a vanilla towel before a wall of wood panels painted mossy sage, a Great Horned Owl stares at camera with wide yellow eyes. The owl's chest plumage is tabby-patterned and calico-toned in shades of black white and ginger. The ear-like tufts for which the species is named are raised at 11 and 1 o'clock. They're mostly black, with tan highlights along the inside track, giving the impression of Unicode character U+223 (ȣ) much like the symbol for Taurus the bull. The owl expresses a photogenic sort of anger, and like a bull, looks ready to impale any who come near.

1st of Owltober!

Original post – 02 Nov 2025
by Shades of Hope Wildlife

located in Pefferlaw, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

GREAT HORNED OWL

This patient arrived a few weeks ago showing critical signs of head trauma. With blood in his mouth and an overall lethargy, our team provided emergency care and placed him on medical watch.

It is now 4 weeks later and we are happy to see a great improvement. He is looking bright again and we are hopeful that he will make a full recovery.

Link to donate to Shades of Hope Wildlife for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/big-recovery-for-great-horned/feed/ 0 Spa Day for Great Horned https://owlsintowels.org/spa-day-for-great-horned/ https://owlsintowels.org/spa-day-for-great-horned/#respond Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4722
A Great Horned Owl is neck deep in water in a stainless steel mixing bowl, with a navy blue towel draped over his back. The camera is looking down into the bowl from an oblique angle, and the owl cranes his head up to flash his buttercup yellow eyes. His expression however is anything but buttery. Nay, it one of immense rage on the brink of manifesting in unspeakable acts of violence.

Original post – 25 Sep 2020
by Red Wolf Sanctuary

located in Rising Sun, Indiana, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

WHEN YOU GET TANGLED UP IN SOMETHING THAT LANDS YOU IN HOT WATER:
This poor little boy GREAT HORNED OWL must have gotten something wrapped around his talons (toes) causing them to swell and develop into a nasty infection.
Hot soaking spa treatments in epsom salts daily are starting him on the road to recovery.

Out of the mixing bowl and into the hands of the Red Wolf rehabilitator (pictured behind, wearing a pomegranate-red tee), the owl continues his look of fury at the camera. Wet plumage on his chest is matted and scraggly, while his plumicorn feathers (a.k.a. 'horns') are slicked back and to the sides, with a few flyaway feathers pointing left and right like he's the titular character of 'Hey Arnold!'. The rehabber holds the owl's ankles and points his toes and talons at camera for easier inspection. The pink pads on the owl's feet match the marshmallow towel in which he is partially wrapped.

Link to donate to Red Wolf Sanctuary for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/spa-day-for-great-horned/feed/ 0 Expression After Hit By Car https://owlsintowels.org/expression-after-hit-by-car/ https://owlsintowels.org/expression-after-hit-by-car/#respond Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4698 This Great Horned Owl is big mad. Plumicorns? Up. Brow? Furrowed. Pupils? The size of dinner plates. He is half-wrapped in a cream blanket, which, combined with thick leathery gloves on his torso means the rehabilitator (behind in a light-blue polymer medical gown) is partially protected from the owl's wrath. It cannot be overstated how angry the owl looks.

Original post – 11 Oct 2024
by Ojai Raptor Center

located in Oak View, California, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

It’s hard to believe, but the unfortunate predicament that Great Horned Owl patient 24-680 found itself in is not as rare as one might think. This owl was rescued after becoming lodged in the grill of a vehicle. Remarkably, we receive about one of these cases a year, and many of the raptors we’ve treated have survived this traumatic ordeal. Despite the severity of the accident, 24-680 is expected to make a full recovery, even after suffering a broken fibula.

Link to donate to Ojai Raptor Center for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/expression-after-hit-by-car/feed/ 0 Rescued from Barbed Wire https://owlsintowels.org/rescued-from-barbed-wire/ https://owlsintowels.org/rescued-from-barbed-wire/#respond Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4576 A Great Horned Owl is cloaked and hooded in a pink red towel with frayed-edges. One plumicorn is covered by the hood and the other is half-raised, askew, and partially obstructed by the towel. Eyes are yellow with a tinge of green, like the skin of an unripe mango, under the awning of a thin white brow in the shape of two tilde '~~' characters placed back-to-back. A rehabilitator restrains the owl with a thick glove. The owl expresses an ill temper, aimed squarely at camera.

Original post – 17 May 2026
by Blackland Prairie Raptor Center

located in Lucas, Texas, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

This Great Horned Owl (Patient 26-0163) came to our raptor center after being trapped in barbed wire. The owl was lethargic, likely from exerting energy to try and free itself. Our raptor clinic staff removed barbed wire from the owl’s right wing. We cleaned around the wound with diluted chlorhexidine, flushed with sterile saline, applied hydroactive gel to wrist and elbow, applied tefla and tegaderm bandages. Fluids were given to rehydrate the owl. It was then placed in our intensive care unit. The following day, the clinic staff took an ever closer look at the wounds. The right wing had significant swelling over radius/ulna, 1 cm laceration in the proximal ulna, bruising over humerus, patagium severed, abrasion and bruising/swelling over metacarpals. The left wing had a 1 cm laceration in the proximal ulna. Same routing — wounds were cleaned, medications applied, bandages put on. A few more days…and the severed patagium is starting to contract and some bruising is resolving. The clinic staff will continue this process of monitoring the wounds, medicating, and wrapping with bandages during the healing process.

Same photo as before, except now a band of long pink fibres from the towel is flopped across one eye of the owl, while the other eye is semi-depressed by the hood. The result is "Dreamworks Face", as best described by TVTropes: "You know that face. The clever, asymmetrical smirk. The similarly crooked eyebrows. The intense stare-down that comes at you from the promotional movie posters - especially for CG family films. It's the expression that tells you the hero is going to be up to no good, and is much cooler than any of those classic, mainstream, conformist wimps those *other* studios produce."
From a little further back, this photo gives a wider view of the clinical setting. The owl is supine on a stainless steel exam table. The hood of the pink-red towel fully covers the owl's head (to reduce stress) and a second towel is laid flat for cushioning. One worker holds the owl's ankles to prevent those powerful black talons from tearing holes in equipment, people. A second pair of blurple-gloved hands hold the owl's wing and treat injuries with a cotton swab.

Link to donate to Blackland Prairie Raptor Center for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/rescued-from-barbed-wire/feed/ 0 Brancher Owls Renested https://owlsintowels.org/brancher-owls-renested/ https://owlsintowels.org/brancher-owls-renested/#respond Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4364 A Great Horned Owlet is contained in a vanilla pillow case. The case colour matches his/her fuzzy fledgling feathers, like frosted tips on plumage that is otherwise tan, brown and black. The setting is a forest floor: an orange climbing rope is coiled below with brown pine needles and leaf litter strewn about.

Original post – 12 May 2024
by Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre

located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

Rehabilitation is great but re-nesting is even better!! Thanks to observant rescuers, our skilled team, and a volunteer arborist, together we were able to re-nest two branching Great Horned Owls high up in the tree. Both young were found on the ground with evidence that their nest was destroyed. After a thorough check, and a few good meals at the Centre, they were ready to return home. From a far distance, we observed mom and dad excitedly welcoming them back within an hour of them returning to the tree!!

A second owlet appears. The pair of GHOWs are perched fore and aft on a branch in a brightly-lit enclosure. The owls' silhouettes blend with the off-white wooden trellis walls behind, making it hard to make out the horns for which the species is named (i.e. the tufts of feathers that ostensibly look like ears). The tufts are only short round nubbins at this early life stage. Any excuse to use the word nubbin, really.
Close up of one of the owlets, with pale yellow eyes and mouth agape trying to exclaim in owl-speak "back off strange bear!"
Shot from afar, one of the owlets is centre of frame, perched high in a pine tree.

🦉This is peak clumsy baby owl season. If you have found a young owl, please call BEFORE rescue if possible so we can assess re-nesting potential! 🦉

Link to donate to Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/brancher-owls-renested/feed/ 0 I Was Sprayed by a Skunk https://owlsintowels.org/i-was-sprayed-by-a-skunk/ https://owlsintowels.org/i-was-sprayed-by-a-skunk/#respond Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4270 A Great Horned Owl is wrapped in a peach towel, the hood of which is seated behind his/her plumicorns; feather tufts that looks like ears and in this case are pointed up and a little matted. In addition to the towel, the owl wears an expression of malcontent, amplified by extra wide pupils and a steep angled brow. Unhand me human or my wrath will be swift.

Original post – 10 Nov 2017
by South Plains Wildlife Rehab

located in Lubbock, Texas, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

When you are about to get in the shower and the door bell rings! The Great-horned owl was sprayed by a skunk and had multiple baths. He was blind from the skunk spray. Fortunately on November 16th he was released. A DPS [Department of Public Safety] trooper from Sonora drove the owl to Lubbock when he found him on the side of the road.

Link to donate to South Plains Wildlife Rehab for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/i-was-sprayed-by-a-skunk/feed/ 0 How to Weigh a Large Bird https://owlsintowels.org/how-to-weigh-a-large-bird/ https://owlsintowels.org/how-to-weigh-a-large-bird/#respond Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=4200
A Great Horned Owl is wrapped in a loose burrito of beige towel. Her ear tufts are flat, making her head look particularly rounded. Her top eyelids are lowered a little, and she has a prominent brow, accented by light brown feathers, giving her yellow eyes an overall perturbed yet stern expression. One pupil is dilated more than the other, which (fun fact!) is something owls can do independently, allowing them to control the amount of light each eye receives.
A pair of fuzzy owl feet are bunched together and talons curled-inwards, rising up and out from a bundle of towel. The rest of the owl is obscured, so it's just feet, emerging from a white polystyrene box on a set of electronic scales.

Photos: NIAMH CARROLL-MARSH and MEGAN ERICKSON

Original post – 12 Dec 2024
by MARS Wildlife Rescue

located in Merville, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

⚖️ Ever wondered how we weigh our larger birds?

Modelled for us by some of our recent owl patients, we weigh our larger birds by safely wrapping them up in a towel (we like to call this ‘burrito-ing’ the patient) and gently placing them claws up in a box. This is all placed on a scale, and we can get accurate weights to help monitor health, while keeping stress levels as low as possible. While it seems like it could be extra stressful for the bird, many birds are able to relax once visual stimulation has been reduced.

Link to donate to MARS Wildlife Rescue for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/how-to-weigh-a-large-bird/feed/ 0 What Big Eyes You Have https://owlsintowels.org/what-big-eyes-you-have/ https://owlsintowels.org/what-big-eyes-you-have/#respond Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=3845
A close-up of a Great Horned Owl wrapped in a vanilla-beige towel and held by a rehabber with thick black gloves. The owl has distinct rictal bristles around her graphite-black beak, and bulbous eyes, lemon yellow in the brightly lit indoor setting. Her top eyelids are 90% open, but the slight droop gives the impression that she is tired or forlorn. Her plumage is barred across the chest, alternating dark-brown and white, with sporadic bursts of caramel.
Same photo but our model owl is looking slightly to the left. There's some big ol' owl feet bottom frame.

Original post – 27 Sep 2025
by A Place Called Hope

located in Killingworth, Connecticut, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Original text:

Owl In A Towel…
Don’t know HOO started this trend but… here ya go!

Link to donate to A Place Called Hope for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/what-big-eyes-you-have/feed/ 0 Renesting Success https://owlsintowels.org/renesting-success/ https://owlsintowels.org/renesting-success/#respond Sun, 22 Feb 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=3583 Slightly larger than a golf ball is the white fluffy head of a Great Horned Owlet emerging from the folds of an off-white towel the tone of baby powder. His beak is too large for him, and seems to comprise half his total body weight. His eyes are black and half shut, with the slightest tinge of pink on the eyelids. He's just a wittle baby.

Original post – 18 Mar 2025
by Wildside Rehabilitation and Education
located in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Original text:

Renesting a Great Horned Owlet was a success! The nest and baby were blown down in the wind storm. The finder called Wildside and Angel and Eleanor went to the rescue! The mom and baby were on the ground together, so we had a good idea that renesting would work!

We first needed a nest, then Jonah as the climber, went into action.

Panel one: a blue plastic washing basket is prepared like a forbidden salad: a bed of pine needles filled with wood shavings. Yum. Panel two: The makeshift nest is secured to a tree with yellow and blue bungee cords around the branches and trunk. Panel three: Close-up of the owlet lifted by the rehabber standing on a ladder in white coveralls. One hand is black-gloved, the other bare, together cradling the fluffy cargo and delivering him to his totally normal and not weird nest.

Baby was checked out, warmed and put into the nest once the nest was secured to the tree. Mom owl returned to the make shift nest within 2 hours!

Link to donate to Wildside Rehabilitation and Education for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/renesting-success/feed/ 0 Medicine for Great Horned https://owlsintowels.org/medicine-for-great-horned/ https://owlsintowels.org/medicine-for-great-horned/#respond Wed, 28 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=3182 Rehabilitator Chris Thomison holds on his lap a GHOW with brilliant yellow eyes. The vanilla towel is wrapped like a cloak, with one corner folded at the middle like a half collar. The owl's plumicorns are erect, brow is furrowed, and upper eyelids are lowered about 30%, giving an overall look of immense scorn. He is plotting the demise of all involved.

Original post – 23 Dec 2025
by Owl Ridge Raptor Center
located in Washburn, Tennessee 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Original text:

Someone did not want to take their medicine and therefore, must be placed in the burrito of towel.

He was thrilled.

Link to donate to Owl Ridge Raptor Center for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/medicine-for-great-horned/feed/ 0 Three Owls in Orange County https://owlsintowels.org/three-owls-in-orange-county/ https://owlsintowels.org/three-owls-in-orange-county/#respond Wed, 14 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=3087 GHOW 1 is in a vanilla towel, head recoiled in a state of stern disapproval at the photographer.
GHOW 2 is a youngster with fuzzy feathers like the fleece of a muppet. He's in a white towel, stained a little near the beak, probably from his latest meal.
GHOW 3 is double wrapped - wearing a white inner sheet surrounded by an outer pink towel, as well as an expression that says "I will tolerate this if you continue feeding me microwaved mice".

Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center sent pics of these gorgeous Great Horned Owl patients, referring to them as their “problem children”.

Aren’t they great?

Sent in 20 Oct 2025 by WWCC
located in Huntingdon Beach, California
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Link to donate to Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/three-owls-in-orange-county/feed/ 0 RIP to the Photographer https://owlsintowels.org/rip-to-the-photographer/ https://owlsintowels.org/rip-to-the-photographer/#respond Wed, 31 Dec 2025 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2905 Angry yellow eyes on this Great Horned Owl are accentuated by the V-shape of his brow stretching from the tips of his plumicorns to his nostrils. He's burrito-wrapped in a vanilla towel, held by a rehabilitator with blue gloves. The towel covers the tip of his beak, and lifts a tuft of feathers to the back. It cannot be overstated how mad he looks.

Original post – 27 Dec 2025
by Congress of the Birds

located in Providence, Rhode Island, US 🇺🇸
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Original text:

Wildlife rehab work never stops. On Christmas Day, we admitted this very angry Great Horned Owl who became entangled in a backyard soccer net—likely while hunting. The homeowners did exactly the right thing by calling us and waiting for our team to arrive before attempting to free him.

Thankfully, there are no fractures, but he has significant soft-tissue swelling from struggling to escape and is understandably very sore. He’ll be with us for the next few weeks on anti-inflammatory medication, with his wing wrapped as it heals. Once the swelling resolves, he’ll begin flight conditioning as he works his way back to release.

Lighting has a dramatic effect on the GHOW's appearance. His pupils are much smaller, contracted in the brighter setting, and his expression far calmer compared to the previous photo, despite being fundamentally the same. Make no mistake, he's still plotting murder. He's not wearing a towel here, and we see the yellow mesh of the soccer net that got him into this situation wrapped around his left wing.
The incident in question. The goal frame is on its side amid piles of autumn leaves before a white paling fence. The GHOW stares violently at the camera as the rescuer holds him by the legs. His wing and back feathers are ensnared in the strands of green-yellow mesh that has been cut free from the main net. He does not look remotely thankful.

Sports nets left up outdoors are a serious and often overlooked hazard for wildlife. Birds of prey, songbirds, and even mammals can become entangled—sometimes fatally—especially during nighttime hunting flights. Taking nets down when not in use can prevent these injuries.

Link to donate to Congress of the Birds for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/rip-to-the-photographer/feed/ 0 Alice Gets Her Beak Trimmed https://owlsintowels.org/alice-gets-her-beak-trimmed/ https://owlsintowels.org/alice-gets-her-beak-trimmed/#respond Sun, 30 Nov 2025 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2688 Alice the 28 year old Great Horned Owl is cocooned in a sunny lime towel. She is lying on her back, with the camera looking down and her looking right back up. Her eyes are pear-yellow with an expression that says "do not eff with me".

A pair of retired Great Horned Owls, Alice (28) and Iris (20+) get their beaks and talons trimmed at the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota.

Original post – 12 Nov 2025
located in Houston, MN
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Most photos by ROB WITTNER

Our retired “senior citizen” owls, Alice and Iris the Great Horned Owls, got their bills and talons trimmed last week (this is called “coping”). Their pointy parts don’t get as much wear and tear as they would in the wild so we have to use a Dremel and dog toenail clipper to help keep things in shape.

Side view of Alice. Her beak is pointed to the ceiling and being trimmed by a Dremel. Her face is obscured by a hand in the foreground holding her head steady while another hand does the trimming. If Alice fears this rotary tool, she keeps it hidden. It's a coping mechanism.
Using the rotary tool to take the long tip off Alice’s bill
Same angle but no longer obscured by human hands, Alice turns to the camera to express herself, fully. Her mouth is wide and she looks IRATE. A second person's forearms enters the frame to brace either side of Alice's torso with the towel.
Ready to bite. (She did score a nice puncture on Karla’s hand)

Alice is 28 years old now, retired, with arthritis, significant cataracts, and atherosclerosis. But she is still spunky!!

Another (!) set of hands, this time restraining Alice's ankles. Three people are involved in this process, four if you count the photographer. Attached to said ankles are fuzzy feet, each clenched in a ball showcasing Alice's impressive talons. Also impressive is her plumage in stripes of black and white.
Alice’s talons, trimmed down. She doesn’t go outside or bathe as much as before, so the outer layers aren’t flaking off as much as they used to. Alice has stripes on the feathers on her toes, unlike the majority of owls in this area.
Similar photo, different owl, years apart. This is Iris. She too is on her back, similarly baring stripes of black and white, with pair of hands restraining her torso and ankles for her pedicure. A lime green towel wraps her, but this one has a hood. "We like to use the kids' hooded towels," says Karla Bloem (exec. director), "so we can cover their heads while working on their feet to keep them calmer." The hood is decorated with the face of a smiling frog, eyes bulging from the top.
Restraining Iris the Great Horned Owl. We use hooded towels so we can easily cover her head so she is slightly less stressed when we aren’t working on her bill. She probably isn’t actually smiling under the smiley frog hood…
A yellow eye peers at the camera from within the grellow frog hood. Dremel and canine-grade toenail clippers sit on the bench behind. In contrast to the previous photo, the humans have decided to wear thick gloves. Probably a wise move.
Holding Iris’s feet
Close up of Iris, shot from below examining her freshly trimmed beak. She's all whiskers. From this angle we see the roof of her open mouth. A finger points below her chin, and Iris looks up at the owner with an expression that would appear without context to be adoration, but we know can only be fuuurious anger at having to go through all this again.
Iris’s bill, in process
Iris is on her back, pictured from above with the frog-towel below (and a heating pad below that). Her right eye, heretofore unseen, is damaged from an injury she sustained back in 2006, which landed her in rehab at Raptor Education Group, Antigo WI. The distortion to her vision meant she was deemed better suited to captivity than the wild, and here we are.
You can see just how wonky her right eye is from the original puncture to her eye that landed her in rehab at the Raptor Education Group in Antigo, WI back in 2006

Alice bites, fights and screams, while Iris almost holds her mouth open for us as if she knows it will get over faster if she doesn’t struggle. Both old ladies are put under once a year for radiographs by The Raptor Center, and it is much easier to cope them at that time. But their bills and talons grow enough that they need trims between their annual visits…something that neither owls nor staff look forward to.

Link to donate to International Owl Center for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/alice-gets-her-beak-trimmed/feed/ 0 Untangled from Net https://owlsintowels.org/untangled-from-net/ https://owlsintowels.org/untangled-from-net/#respond Mon, 27 Oct 2025 08:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2372 A Great Horned Owl is wrapped in a pale lichen-green towel in the arms of a rehabilitator. One ear tuft is free, the other concealed by the towel around the head, worn like a shawl. Showl? He is kept stable top and bottom with thick mustard-yellow gloves. His eyes are fixed on the camera with intense yellow eyes that say "Choose your next action wisely human. Invoke my wrath and it will be your last". A mop handle stands in the background before wall panels of stainless steel.

27th of Owltober!

Original post – 05 Jun 2025
by Jackson County Animal Shelter
located in Jackson, Michigan
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Original text:

He was tangled in netting. We cut his talons free and made sure there was no more strings/strands left wrapped around his legs or in between his talons to cut off circulation.
He was then returned to where he was found. Here is the picture of him taking flight after his short visit to JCAS.

Link to donate to Jackson County Animal Shelter for those willing and able.

Photographed immediately after release, the owl flies low to the ground with wings outstretched above a stony pavement. The camera looks down at 45 degrees from above, so we catch a full "plan" view of the owl's back and wings, slightly camouflaged against the pebbled surface, as he flies toward a grassy area beyond. Go well friend.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/untangled-from-net/feed/ 0 Surgery in Saratoga https://owlsintowels.org/surgery-in-saratoga/ https://owlsintowels.org/surgery-in-saratoga/#respond Thu, 23 Oct 2025 08:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2293 Close-up of a Great Horned Owl hooded and wrapped by a white-pink towel. The hood sags in the middle, forming a rounded letter 'Y', or bunny-ear shaped tunnel in which the owl is ensconced. The owl's mouth is open and yellow eyes are wide, reflecting ceiling lights. The rehabber wears dark emerald green scrubs, one arm bearing a tattooed sleeve, the other holding the owl's legs below and out of frame.

23rd of Owltober!

Original post – Sep 2019
by Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA
located in Saratoga, California
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Original text:

We are currently caring for a Great Horned Owl that became entangled in netting at a soccer field in Woodside. He sustained wounds on his right foot and lower leg. The owl will need more surgery on his foot and leg as part of his ongoing treatment before he is fully healed and can be returned to the wild.

Note: the image data indicates this was posted in September 2019 but the following advice is just as apt this time of year🕸️:

As you prepare to decorate for Halloween, please consider not using fake spider webs since animals, especially birds, can become caught in them.

Link to donate to Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/surgery-in-saratoga/feed/ 0 Battered Bronx Bird https://owlsintowels.org/battered-bronx-bird/ https://owlsintowels.org/battered-bronx-bird/#respond Tue, 21 Oct 2025 08:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2236 A Great Horned Owl is wrapped in a watermelon-pink towel, held between the forearm and chest of a rehabilitator wearing dark blue scrubs and light blue gloves. The owl has seen better days, missing one of his 'horn' tufts and some other head feathers, looking rather scrappy overall. His eyes are yellow tinged with green. His head is both turned and leaning slightly, oddly reminiscent of a portrait of Captain James Cook. His feathers are the shade of toasted granola with accents of cream and dark brown.

21st of Owltober!

Original post – 06 May 2024
by Wild Bird Fund
located in New York, New York
Website | Instagram | Facebook

Original text:

We welcomed another owl guest — a juvenile great horned owl who had fallen on very hard times before even getting started in the world. This BIG kid was found in the Bronx, emaciated, dehydrated and very weak. He’d lost one of his ear tufts and appeared to have been pecked on the head.

We treated him for potential rodenticide poisoning, a likely culprit, and provided urgent supportive care. This morning he was more stable and we’re sending him off to our excellent friends at The Raptor Trust for longer-term recovery. Thank you to TRT and to the NYC Parks rangers who rescued the owl. We truly hope this young beauty will get the chance at a long life in the wild.

Link to donate to Wild Bird Fund for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Bubo virginianusGreat Horned OwlWiki link
They’re the same picture.
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