Screech Owl Family Reunion
Three baby owlets got a second chance after the tree they called home got taken down by a careless tree service last Saturday. The nest was discovered in a cavity of the fallen tree, with all three luckily unharmed. Luckily, the homeowner called Sacred Friends, and Katherine Sheetz came to the rescue.
For the next two days, Katherine fed them diced meat like their parents would, and by Monday Pearl and Jimmy "Two Hawks" had everything prepared for the big family reunion. Jimmy built the "Hilton" of nest boxes, and Pearl called in the cavalry to get the box and the babies high up in their new tree.
Nuckols Tree Care volunteers their time and services to researchers and rehabbers who are banding, rescuing, or releasing birds high up in the trees, so it was a natural choice. Nuckols Tree Care's Nate Jones did the honors, installing the new nesting box and putting the little ones in a bed of pine needles, high up in their new home.
Reese Lukei, a volunteer with the Center for Conservation Biology in Williamsburg, came to visit that evening when owls are most active and had this to say, “At dusk, one of the adult owls was calling softly to its chicks,” Lukei said, “and flew to the nest box.”.
The myth that a mother bird won't take care of a baby who has been touched by a human is just that, a myth. When you see a baby bird that is out of place, please do something! Their parents will be worried sick, just like you would if your child was missing. Our ultimate goal is always to get any wildlife back into its natural habitat as soon as possible, and we always love being a part of success stories like this!
See the article in the Virginian Pilot
