We admitted the first baby of 2022 last Monday (4/04), which means baby season has officially begun for us! This little Great Horned Owl chick was found on the ground below its nest after an intensely windy day. Unfortunately, the finders couldn’t reach the nest to place it back in, so they brought it straight to us. We frequently get young animals brought to us after they’ve been kept for multiple days, so we were happy that these rescuers knew exactly what to do! At first exam, the young owl appeared to be perfectly healthy and luckily did not sustain any injuries from the fall.
Owls this young often do not fare well in a rehabilitation setting without another owl of their own species present, so we were worried about its fate. Luckily, after extensive communication between the rescuers and our office staff, we found an incredibly generous landscaping company who was willing to help! Tree Technologies, located in Santa Fe, were willing to bring their bucket truck and skilled workers to the location of the nest and help us get the baby back in where it belonged!
On April 6, Tree Technologies workers, NMWC wildlife rehabilitators Laura and Stephanie, and volunteer Susan headed out to the rescue location to scope the nest and make sure the parents were still nearby. Luckily, they found a very angry Great Horned Owl mother and older sibling in the nest! After quickly placing the young owlet in the nest, the Tree Technologies bucket truck retreated and all celebrated a success! From all of us here at NMWC, thank you to the wonderful crew at Tree Technologies for donating their time to help us get this little owlet back to its nest!
This was exactly how we wanted to start the 2022 baby season- with a reunion! While we are equipped to take in almost all types of baby wild animals found in New Mexico, we always hope to reunite them with their parents instead. If you find a wild animal that you are concerned about, please give your local licensed wildlife rehabilitation center a call to determine the correct next actions. You can always give us a call at (505) 753-9505.
