This morning I rescued my first owl. An injured barn owl. I got the call at 8:15 this morning long after I’m normally at the gym but today I kept finding reasons to delay my departure and the owl rescue won out over the gym. It was close by, just a couple of miles away and I threw on some clothes and drove over. He was leaning against the fence, his wing and leg injured. According to the home owner, he’d had to defend himself earlier this morning when her dog decided to investigate.
I took the time to take a photo because he did not seem agitated; he seemed resigned. I didn’t approach too closely when I took the photo. I’m glad I didn’t because he tried to get away from me when I approached a few minutes later to towel him. But as soon as I covered his head with a towel, he relaxed and didn’t struggle as I placed him in the picnic basket which has become my raptor rescue carrier. When I dropped him off at the Bird and Pet Clinic of Roseville, headquarters for the California Foundation for Birds of Prey, the raptor organization for which I volunteer, he was assigned number 11-161, the 161st raptor brought in this year to date.
I wish I’d had my 70-300mm lens on the camera but my 18-200 did the job and I cropped this photo. This isn’t a happy photo but I’m hoping he survives. He was moving in the carrier as I drove and they had started to examine him as I left the clinic.
Focal Length 200mm
ISO 400
f/5.6
1/50
Cropped