Thank You Thank You Thank You
Thanks to your support, this barn owl (just 1-day old) won’t go hungry! Two weeks ago, we asked you to help us raise money to support what was then over 200 baby barn owls at our Tri-Cities center. We even had an anonymous donation match of $7,000. With your help, we’ve now raised more than $24,000! Thank you!!! This will allow us to feed the owls — now 345 and counting — for three weeks. We will need about six more weeks of funds, so keep spreading the word and helping as much as you can! To thank you for all your support, we have a few donation options we hope you will enjoy.
The oldest owls are nearly two months old now, and will be fledging soon. Initially, the owls will return to the next boxes during the day; then, they will start roosting in the surrounding trees. Food consumption will start to decline as the owls learn to fly and then learn to hunt. Hopefully, within six to eight weeks, we will be feeding 2000 mice per month, rather than 1500 mice per day! In the mean time, please continue to spread the word about the barn owl explosion and our need for help in feeding baby barn owls. Thank you again for your generous support! We couldn’t do it without you.
A Fun Way to Help Feed Baby Owls
Visit the ADOPT-A-BIRD page to support a baby barn owl.
BMW Volunteers Always Go the Extra (Few Dozen) Miles
Volunteers Mark and Laurel rescued five young Barn Owls whose mother had disappeared. The rescue involved a tractor with a front-end loader, a man cage on the loader and an extension ladder. The owls were on a ledge about 30 feet off the ground.
First, Mark had to get to the nest.
Then he collected the owls.
Safely back on the ground!
Barn Owl Banding Project
With the help of master bird banders Rick Gerhardt and Jim Anderson, plans are quickly being developed to band as many of the barn owl babies as possible. Rick stopped by the Pendleton center this past week to give us a banding lesson. He banded 4 barn owls that were fostered into a nest at Ladd Marsh and two young great horned owls. One was returned to his family, the other Rick fostered into a nearby nest. Over time, the banding data will give us an idea of how far the owls disperse and how long they live.
Rick gets organized:
He measures the owl’s leg to determine the correct band size:
He places the band on the owl’s leg and crimps it:
Barn owl with bling:
And a great horned owl:
Finally, There is Plenty of Room at the Inn
Volunteers Pam and Mike assembled four large nest boxes this week to bring the number of available hack boxes to 33. Michele and Laurel were able to move all the owls outside who were capable of swallowing a whole mouse (those who were four weeks of age or older), bringing the outside total to 325. There are just 20 owls left inside, all younger than four weeks of age, and there is one empty nest box.
