SHREWSBURY – John and Audrey Dalli heard a big bang just outside their Jill Circle home late on Dec. 6.
They opened the sliding door, and John Dalli found something at the foot of the door.
“I saw this big thing splayed out … it looked like a possum,” he said. “Then Audrey came in and saw it was an owl.”
They called the town’s Animal Control, who in turn told them to contact Raptor Tales Rescue (RTR) of Shrewsbury, an organization dedicated to treating and releasing raptors such as hawks and owls.
Within 10 minutes, RTR President Jessica Zorge-Perna arrived.
“I responded to the owl still down on the deck unable to fly away. I quickly netted and contained the owl to be brought back for assessment,” she said.
The barred owl – a young male that was about a year old – suffered from head trauma, but didn’t have any fractures, said Zorge-Perna.
After a couple of days of treatment – including fluids, pain medications and a hearty meal – the owl was flight tested and placed in an outdoor aviary.
Late in the afternoon of Dec. 8, Zorge-Perna returned to the Dallis’ home with the owl. They went to the back yard, away from the sliding door. Pointing the owl to some nearby trees, Zorge-Perna released the owl. It perched in the branches not far from the home.
Zorge-Perna estimated that the owl will “hang around” for about an hour before flying off into the night.
Lots of owls around
The barred owl was not the only raptor making its way to the rescue. The same night, Zorge-Perna took in another owl that had been struck by a vehicle in Worcester.
“It was a great breeding season for barred owls, and we are seeing increasing numbers injured this winter, mainly hit by vehicles,” she said.
Since its incorporation, RTR has received more than 200 raptors, and have fielded thousands of calls from the public regarding injured and orphaned wildlife.
Zorge-Perna, who’s been rescuing raptors for more than 10 years, offered the following suggestions to keep down raptor injuries:
- Do not throw food items out of your car. It attracts small animals to roadways that owls then attempt to prey upon and get hit as a result.
- Slow down! Interactions with vehicles are occurring earlier as the nights are getting longer and owls are mainly nocturnal.
- Reduce the chance of raptors hitting windows by turning off lights at night and placing clings or stickers in windows to help birds safely navigate.
- Seek alternative methods for rodent control. Rodenticides often lead to painful death for unintended targets like raptors, other wildlife animals and even household pets.
- Raptors are injured or killed by shot, glue traps, sports net entanglements (remove when not in use), fishing line entanglements (always clean up your gear)
- Use cap chimneys to prevent unwanted visitors. RTR has received many calls of owls and other animals stuck.
Raptor Tales Rescue has a rescue hotline at 978-415-9363, and a Facebook page with more information https://www.facebook.com/raptortalesrescue/.
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