For owls that are superb.
US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now
International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com
Australia Rescue Help: WIRES
Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org
If you find an injured owl:
Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.
Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.
Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.
If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.
For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.
Photo by Baba-Vulic Aleksandar
A northern harrier catches up to a short-earred owl, knocks the small rodent (vole) she was carrying out of her grasp, and catches it's rapidly descending prize before it meets the ground. Harrier has been known to steal a vole froma short- eared owl in mid-air. This is an example of kleptoparasitism, which is when one bird steals another's food.
That vole can't catch a break! 😮
Mobbing (the little birds chasing off the big ones) is very interesting to get into. It's one of the few things where animals of different species will work together for the same purpose!
What a fancy, poopy, loud, cute hat!
It's like one of those wacky hats from the royal wedding. Princess Eugenie looks to be getting swarmed by a Jay here:
Ah, yes, the British posh, they both look like they would fight for that vole in much the same manner as the birbs, but without the elegance.
"I call it.... The Aristocrats!"
Hell yeah, little Jay, get it!
I love jays, they are so quirky and badass.
I adore my jays. I switched feeding strategies in my backyard to a trough-style feeder to make extra room for the little birds and prevent the Jays from bullying everyone else out.
One cool thing I've noticed is the Jays acting like a (very loud) lookout alarm for all the other species. The Jays scream, and everyone runs away and hides. I've seen it when the hawk comes poking around, and once when a cat found its way onto my deck.
Heck, the Jays have me trained at this point! Whenever I hear their...delightful voices...I look out the window to see who my new visitor is. They're nature's Ring cam!