Kanyana Wildlife posted pictures of two barn owls admitted to their hospital in the same week. KW were happy to report “both came in with no injuries and were released the following day.”
In that post a commenter uploaded an image of a same-day news article published by Echo Newspaper:
I couldn’t find an archived copy of the article in any digital format, but through the magic of OCR, we have the following story:
The rescue of Owlie
ANITA McINNES
It’s not every day you get to help rescue a native bird in the Midland central business district. But that is what happened when our receptionist Tracey Fox alerted assistant to the general manager Caprice Harries and myself that an owl was outside the front of our office last week.
Ms Harries ran to get a towel while I kept an eye on the owl, which had groggily flown a few metres to land in some shrubbery. Suddenly from nowhere a raven and a few magpies started harassing him, so he attempted to fly across Keane St.
He was so low we held our breath because if a car had come along they would have had to swerve to miss him, which is not a good idea from a safety point of view. He did not get very far before he collapsed onto the side of the road. Other birds kept attacking him so he made a few more attempts to fly away before he fell onto the footpath next to the roundabout near our office.
A passerby joined our efforts but as we edged nearer to try and cover him with a towel, the owl took off across the Avenue. We thought we had lost him but then he crashed into the back building and fell to the ground as though he were knocked out.
Ms Harries quickly covered him with a towel while I held open a bag, which our general manager Jocelyn Longley had found for us. After a phone call to Kanyana Wildlife, Ms Harries drove him up there so he could be assessed.
Kanyana Wildlife hospital manager Tasha Hennings said the owl was actually a barn owl. Ms Hennings said on admission he was bright and alert and they could see no evidence of injury.
“We have moved him to an aviary for the day and will reassess him tomorrow,” she said. “If he is flying well he will be able to be released tomorrow night, but if his flight is still not adequate we will send him to the vet for x-rays.”
After the wildlife sanctuary gave him a clean bill of health Ms Harries and Ms Fox took him to a Midland park for releasing. At first he just sat there and then when Ms Harries gave him a little nudge he flew off without a backward glance. And that was the last we saw of Owlie.
Ms Hennings said as the barn owl weighed 309g they thought he was most likely a male as the male weight was 280g to 320g, compared with the female weight range of 350g to 450g.
The wildlife sanctuary admits about five injured barn owls a year. Most of those admitted had been hit by cars. She said if residents found an injured barn owl they should wrap it in a towel, put it in a box, keep it warm and calm and get it to the wildlife sanctuary as soon as possible.
While a barn owl has a sharp beak the most important thing to remember was to watch out for its very sharp talons.
Kanyana Wildlife is keen to hear from anyone who wants to volunteer or make a donation as the organisation does not get any government funding. The wildlife sanctuary is at 120 Gilchrist Rd, Lesmurdie. Call 9291 3900, email info@kanyanawildlife.org.au or visit kanyanawildlife.org.au.
