My owl rescue adventure

Today I started out on my trip to Yellowstone. Three hours into it, on I-94 near Fargo, I caught a glimpse of a great-horned owl sitting in the median right next to the road. I had to drive a ways to get to the next exit and turn around. Sure enough, that's what was there. Since I'm going camping I have a bunch of stuff with me, including a box and a blanket. I stopped on the side of the interstate (which always makes me nervous) and walked up to the owl, threw the blanket over it and put it in the box. That was the easy part (except when it grabbed my finger with a talon!) Then I had to figure out what to do with it. I managed to get a hold of Karla Kinstler at the Houston (MN) Nature Center, who is an owl expert. I attended the Owl Festival there back in February, so she was the first person who came to mind. She gave me the contact info for a few rehabbers in ND so I got a hold of one of them. Unfortunately none of the rehabbers were anywhere close to the south part of the state, and I didn't want to turn around and go back to the Twin Cities. So that began a 4 hour series of many phone calls to various people and organizations, and I finally found a vet who does avian rescue, and was within a reasonable distance. This process was not easy, being out of state, and not having access to a computer or anything where I could look up information! Plus I was more than a little nervous having this GHO in the car. So I got it to the vet and it turns out the owl doesn't have any obvious external injuries, but is completely blind. Probably a head injury from being hit by a car. It will probably be sent to the MN Raptor Center for further care, which is back in the Twin Cities. It's one of the best centers for raptors in the country. So hopefully the owl will recover and I'll be able to follow up with what's going on. Meanwhile, I did manage to snap a few shots with my P&S. I didn't want to do too much for fear of further traumatizing the owl, or myself! Overall this added about 2 hours to my trip (since I kept driving west). Had I not been able to find somewhere in ND to take it, I would have turned around back to the Twin Cities without hesitation.

Here it is in the back of the car. It had managed to get out of the box and then fall behind the driver seat.

Wow, Liz. What a great but sad story! It breaks my heart to see a bird as magnificent as this injured. Bravo and kudos to you for helping him, you certainly saved his life and I hope he recovers. Nice pictures of the story too, I hope you can update us in the future.

If we only had more caring people like you in the world! Thanks for taking the time to help.

Great story and good work.

Excellent story. I hope the Owl recovers. Thank you for sharing this adventure.

Great story and a far greater deed. You went above and beyond and mad a terrible situation so much better. Way to Liz!

I hope one day soon this bird will be healthy and free.

I shudder to think of the fate of this beautiful bird had you not picked him up. Thank you for sharing the story and the pictures. I hope you will be able to get updates and keep us informed of his progress. Thank you for caring and going the extra miles.

Ah, great story, sad situation for the owl... I hope they find him a good home.

great story, and good for you! I have a question though.
A few years ago, we had a similar story in a local paper regarding a hawk rescue. One of the things mentioned was that the rescuer could have been arrested if stopped by a policeman, because it is illegal to have birds of prey in one's possession. Is there a similar law in your part of the country? I remember it because it seemed so unfair to me.

great job done
Rob.

KARMA!!!! MAY ONLY SHARP IMAGES COME YOUR WAY!!!!! Good for you!!

Liz....that is wonderful. You did a good thing. If you'd have been in upstate NY, your owl would have a wonderful home at:

http://www.birdparadis​e.org/

They do wonderful things for our feathered friends. Please follow up on the owl and let us all know how it turns out.

Thanks
Mike

Very cool.

Thanks all for commenting. I'm going to call the vet today and hopefully get some updated information. As for the legalities of carrying around a GHO, those issues were in the back of my mind and I was prepared to take the risk. No way I was going to leave that owl on the side of the road or in the hands of some random person who wouldn't know what to do with it. I'm sure it will end up at the Raptor Center in the Twin Cities where it will be very well cared for. Had this happened locally, I would have been able to call them and they would have sent someone to pick it up. However, being out in the middle of nowhere and far from home, I had to take matters into my own hands and any risks associated with that! I'll post an update as soon as I find out anything.

Great work Liz. So many, many animals and birds die a horrible death laying beside roads everywhere. It just boggles the mind that people turn the other cheek and just never even look at them as they drive by, let alone stop, even if they hit one.