Four little screech owls perching in a tree,
When September comes they’ll be flying free!
The first owl was found in Gilroy in June, lying on the ground. While being examined, it was apparent that the owl’s wing was injured, and it was in pain. X-rays by the veterinarian showed no fractures, but there was evidence of an injury that had recently healed and required pain medication. In addition, because almost all of the juvenile owl’s tail feathers were missing, it needed to recuperate at W.E.R.C. until new feathers grew out.
The second owlet arrived two weeks later after being rescued from the middle of a street in Morgan Hill. It’s likely that it had a mishap during its first flight from the nest. The fledgling was put in an enclosure with W.E.R.C.’s resident non-releasable Screech Owl, Oscar, who foster-fathered the baby so that it wouldn’t become imprinted on its human caretakers.
Then, two downy nestlings fell from their nest in a tree in Morgan Hill and were brought to W.E.R.C. They required hand-feeding for several days before eating on their own. After one month, all four owls transferred together to their own outside enclosure. Next month, after they have proven their ability to hunt rodents, they will be released near the areas where each had been found. September will be “school’s out” for these guys!
The western screech owl ranges from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains and lives in open woodlands, parks, deserts and wooded streams. Contrary to its name, the owl’s vocalization is not a screech (if you hear that sound, there’s a barn owl nearby), but a tremulous hoo-hoo-hoo often compared to the sound of a bouncing ball.
The nocturnal bird of prey is extremely adaptable and aggressively hunts large insects, small rodents, small birds, snakes, frogs and lizards.
With its ear tufts and mottled brown coloring, the 7- to 8-inch long screech owl resembles a miniature great horned owl (which is 22 inches long). The patterned coloring and tufts (“horns”) provides a perfect camouflage in a tree, where the owls roost during the day and nest in cavities, helping them to outsmart their primary enemy – hawks and other animals that hunt in the daytime.
WERC, the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, provides the community with rehabilitation services for orphaned, injured and sick native wildlife. Through its educational programs, WERC encourages a peaceful coexistence between civilization and our native wildlife. WERC does not receive operating funds from any government agency to care for wildlife and is not allowed to charge a fee for this service. It is supported solely by donations from businesses and the public. To contact WERC, call (408) 779-9372 or visit www.werc-ca.org.
