Left a gas station shop...

With an owl.

I'd just finished checking out the bathroom and was walking to my car when I noticed what I thought was a crumpled paper bag on the ground near the pumps. Then it moved.

I walked over and looked at it... little tiny owl. I looked up and noticed that the spot where it was, was right under the edge of the overhead canopy. I think they'd been roosting up there, and it had fallen.

I pulled pop-up cones from my car, placed around it so that it wouldn't get run over by someone pulling in to pump gas, went inside and alerted the attendant that there was what appeared to be an injured owl in the parking lot near the pumps, and it could get run over. I know, I know, don't be memorable, but... little tiny owl just sitting there.

Her answer was "Is it dead?" Me: "No, it's alive and may be injured. "

She then said that animal control wasn't available until tomorrow, so if it was still there in the morning, she'd make sure someone called animal control to take care of it.

I sat there for a few more minutes, couldn't come up with a good solution since she wasn't going to do anything, so... I brought it home with me. He's now hanging out in my music room and has wolfed down a lot of mealworms.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

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Thank you for helping it! It is precious! I would have done the same thing!! There may possibly be wildlife rehabilitators in your area that can care for it and release it back into the wild once it is ready. I found a baby squirrel sometime back and was lucky to find a woman in my town who does just that.

Bbird you're a gem!

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He's beautiful! Please find a wildlife rescue place ASAP. We have one here -- I'm actually on its board of directors -- so if you can't find a rescue tomorrow PM me and I'll put you in touch with the director who may be able to advise you on feeding it and caring for it until you can get it to a place that can rehabilitate it for release.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

I just spent the past hour or so finding out what type of owl it is and reading up on how to feed it. The mealworms seem to be fine, but it seems he/she'd prefer small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. None of those laying around here! We raise mealworms and crickets for the chickens, and it ate those fine, but... I will definitely be calling around tomorrow to find some place to care for him/her.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

Owls eat small animals, then regurgitate the undigested bones. At least with mealworms you won't have that to clean up.

They eat mice, squirrels, lizards, snakes -- and the occasional kitten or rabbit. It's important for raptors to eat the fur and feathers of their prey. I've donated unwanted roosters to the raptor rescue in Phoenix several times; they need the whole bodies not just meat. I learned about the throwing up the bones thing when a group I am in had a link to an "owl cam" where they ran a live stream of a nest of owls. You could see the parents coming in and feeding and sometimes you could see the bone gobs they regurgitated.

I wonder how old it is. I love his coloring.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

From my tiny bit of research tonight, he is an Eastern Screech Owl, and seems to be between youngster-teenager age. His ear tufts aren't very long or pronounced.

We weighed him and he is 4.4 ozs... full-grown adults (they are tiny too) are about 6-8 ozs.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

Huge hugs to you for helping that adorable little bird out.

"She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the type of person who would keep a parrot." Mark Twain

Looking at that first picture just makes me smile. I can only imagine what he's thinking.

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That's Mys Butterfly, if you please.

What a cutie-pie!!!

Kim

This is just a sign that you are heading to Hogwarts soon.
:-)

Bless you for taking care of the owl! I came home with a ferret I found in a dumpster at a gas station. This was before I was shopping. I pulled into the station and parked near a dumpster. When I returned to my car, I noticed this little animal staring at me. I thought it was a squirrel at first, but realized that it wasn't. I had never seen a ferret before, so I did not have a clue how to take care of it. I brought it home and took it to the vet the next day. He was really skinny and had a fair sized cut on his leg. After about a week, he was gaining weight and running around the house. That was six years ago and he is doing great. However, he is slowing down and is mostly grey now. Ferrets only live about ten years or so. The vet figured he was about three when I found him.

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What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. -Henry David Thoreau
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Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. -Frank Clark
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Well done and many thanks for sharing the story and the picture.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

You are my hero! Owls are my favourite bird and this little one is very lucky to have found you!

I think what you did was great! (I don't say that much to people anymore)

Just like here. Dogs running loose and the sheriff shoots them. Animal control all right! grrr

Well, looks like he's mine for the next 2-5 days.

Called a few wildlife places, only one has room for him, and that won't be for another few days. They have a hawk they're releasing and that will free up a cage. The others are at least four hours away, so I'll wait.

They asked me to bring him in, so they could check him out. I did. Overall, he's fine, uninjured, and healthy, but one of his wings won't extend fully.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

Maybe he is destined for a zoo.

She said she was surprised that he is still alive, unless his mother continued to bring food back long after the baby stage. She said that's rare but it happens. She told me that one of their owls has a dwarf wing, and his mother brought him food for four years. It wasn't until she died that they stepped in and rescued him. Kinda cool, I had no idea owls were so maternal.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

Be very careful who you tell. I did a story a couple of years ago about a women out here who rescued birds. Someone found out and called the feds. They raided her house and killed all the birds. I can't remember the Act, but it is a federal law--Migratory Bird Act or something like that.

In her case there was no question about how well cared for the birds were and the fact that she spent lots of money on vet care and proper housing. She lived in the middle of the desert, so it wasn't a zoning issue either. It was simply the fact that she was unlicensed.

California Fish and Game went after her as well. They were threatening her with criminal charges and state prison time. She had to get an attorney to fight them off.

She was not some crazy whack job. She was a Hollywood stuntwoman. She had lots of connections and tried to use them but the Feds don't care. Last time I checked with her, they were leaving her alone.

Here in California we have vets that are designated as "wildlife vets" where injured wildlife can be dropped off. Of course, I don't trust them not to just kill, so I try to find a licensed rehabber when I can.

I'm glad you found a place for him so soon. And I think it's great that they have rehabbed another of their birds so he is ready for release. The rehabber I know is licensed for certain animals, but when she acquires an endangered species I think she has to take it to the Game and Fish facility in Phoenix. They have a raptor rescue down there.

I had a Small Brown Bat (that's its name) get into my house once; it was so tiny I thought it was one of my cats' toy fur mice until I prodded it with a little stick and it flexed a wing out. I caught it in a box and she came and picked it up. Gave it some water and food and kept an eye on it for a day and then put it out on a tree at night. It flew off on its own power.

She also managed to save a tarantula that was the victim of a tarantula wasp. It was amazing that she was able to save it; those wasps are nasty and usually the tarantula goes into a coma and eventually dies.

I love hearing her stories about the critters she saves. Will the rescue give you occasional updates on little "Pigwidgeon"?

Time to build a bigger bridge.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2014 05:39PM by dspeakes.

*love*

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

They asked me if I would be interested in keeping him, and offered to train me on dietary needs and care. She said if he can't fly, he can't hunt, so he'll likely be a long-term care need, and that's one more cage occupied long-term, less raptors that they can rehabilitate and release. She is going to call around and see if anyone has room to keep him, but she doesn't think so.

I would like to, but I'd have to make sure it's okay with my husband. It's a serious commitment.

I brought him into my bedroom in a box last night, put him on my nightstand, but he hopped out and stayed perched on my bedpost most of the night, just staring at me.

I think it's cool that he lets me hold him and pet him, but... it's a wild animal and he has sharp claws and beak. I'm worried how he'll be around my kids.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

Talk with your husband about it.. The kids would have a hout literally but it's good you are thinking about their safety too!

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

I would discourage it, frankly. It's a huge commitment and a lot to learn to do it successfully. He would probably be happier in a zoo or someplace with other owls than kept as a housepet by himself. If you have cats or dogs, you'll constantly be having to protect him.

If you're thinking of keeping him, have a vet show you how to trim his claws and maybe the tip of his beak to reduce damage to whoever handles him.

Maybe see if you can TRY to keep him for awhile, but surrender him to the rescue if it doesn't work out? But keep in mind, it could get expensive. Can you afford it? How many mystery shops will it take to support him?

Time to build a bigger bridge.

I've never fostered an owl, but I've fostered plenty of skunks and possums. Growing up, my dad was like the Skunk Whisperer... he was constantly finding orphaned ones, bringing them home, raising them, and then releasing them. They always stuck close by, and it was pretty cool when, a year or two later, they'd bring their babies back to meet him. I seem to have inherited the Skunk Whisperer genes... I'm constantly coming across injured ones too.

I'm going to stick with him the next few days until they have a cage available for him. I may try to find a cage to donate so I won't feel bad if he's taking up rehabilitation space.

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Plan the work. Work the plan.

What a good deed! The owl was lucky you were in the right place at the right time.

Adorable - I would have brought him/her home also. Luckily we have a wild bird sanctuary that takes wild birds - even hummingbirds - for a small donation. Sounds like you guys might be bonding and it is a hugh commitment to care for a wild animal. Your heart is in the right place.

So on that one question about the canopy's you can answer that yes there did appear to be a birds nest - haha.

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