Last month, you may have read about the dramatic rescue of an entangled great horned owl at Lake Temescal. The female bird was snared in discarded fishing line and left dangling by her left wing approximately 150 feet up in a redwood tree.
Almost six weeks later, following intensive rehabilitation efforts at the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital, the owl was released near the reservoir with a second lease on life.
A small group convened on a recent evening to witness the release. The group included Dr. Maddie Tolan from the Lindsay Hospital, wildlife rescue specialist Valerie Wayne, the father and son from the family that spotted the distressed raptor, and myself.
The owl wasted no time heading for the cover of nearby trees. Video: Valerie Wayne
A slow motion video camera captured a close up of the owl taking flight.
Dr. Tolan explained that the owl’s recovery initially involved creating a sling to immobilize the injured wing and allow swelling to subside. “Then she had twice daily physical therapy to strengthen shoulder tendons and ligaments, which had been sprained,” she said. She described the beautiful bird as a “tough and feisty patient” while at the hospital.
The owl arrived in a cardboard carrier with Dr. Tolan, covered with a blanket to keep her calm during transport from the hospital. Wayne, who was on the scene for the rescue operation last month, did not want to miss the owl’s release. Once the box was opened, “she’ll fly straight for the trees,” predicted Wayne.
Veterinarian Maddie Tolan and rescue specialist Valerie Wayne coordinated the owl’s release after its recuperation at Lindsay Wildlife Rehab Hospital. Photos: Rhita Williams (left) & Skip Fogarty (right)
The ideal time to release an owl is near dusk and within its established territory. Indeed, when the box flaps were opened, the owl wasted no time taking off and flew in a low, straight line toward a perch in a bare deciduous tree alongside Temescal Creek. It was an awe-inspiring sight.
Armed with my binoculars, I scanned for the owl in the waning light. She was well camouflaged, but did not go unnoticed by a couple of scrub jays, who squawked and swooped at the owl, followed by a murder of aggressive crows that the animal specialists had hoped to avoid.
But the owl sat, quiet and steady, unperturbed by the screaming and dive-bombing efforts of the smaller birds. Dr. Tolan, assuming the owl’s voice, said, “You crows may annoy me now, but when it’s dark, I will rule the sky!”
None of this would have happened without the outstanding work of the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital. Lindsay cares for more than 5,000 wild animals every year, providing expert treatment completely free of charge. This lifesaving work depends on community support, so please consider making a gift: https://lindsaywildlife.org/donate.
Likewise, recognition goes to the Williams family on Contra Costa Road, who spotted the owl struggling in a redwood tree behind their home and paid the arborists, who climbed the tree to untangle and safely capture her.
“This bird certainly beat the odds,” said Wayne, in reference to the many known and unknown fishing-trash entanglements that occur around the lake and most often end in painful death for birds and other wildlife. “This is the kind of ending we work so hard for. Watching her fly again made our hearts soar.”
