Thanks to the quick thinking of a homeowner in Johnstown and the ingenuity of longtime Ohio Wildlife Center rescue volunteer Dave Wood, an Eastern Screech Owl had some help in its efforts to fledge.
Wood was called on April 7, 2017, to a residential area a few blocks from downtown Johnstown, east of Columbus. The caller had discovered the young o
wl on their porch when the front door was opened to let the family dog out. After pulling the dog inside, the homeowner went back to check the porch and the owl was gone. The owl had made its way to the backyard and was hiding in a pile of leaves when the caller discovered it during a second walk around the yard.
According to Wood, “when I got there I checked the little guy out and he seemed fine, but feisty.” Wood searched for a tree cavity as a possible location to place the owl, but no trees in the yard offered the right kind of nesting spot to protect the fledging. Wood then moved to option B, which required a quick trip to the local hardware store for a hook and gallon-sized plastic bucket to construct a temporary nesting box. With some dry leaves, twigs, and a small opening cut into the side of the bucket, it was hung on the hook that was placed on a mature tree on the property. Some duct tape, which Wood always carries, anchored branches on the front of the bucket to provide a perch for the owl’s parents.
The owl was placed in the bucket and the waiting began. The next day, according to Wood, the owl was nowhere to be found. “This suggests he was indeed ready to fledge and was going to do it despite our efforts to re-nest him,” Wood said. “He is wherever nature intended him to be and I choose to assume he is doing well.”
Eastern screech owls are one of the smallest owl species in North America and are nocturnal hunters that can live up to 20 years. The baby owls “fledge,” by hopping on the ground or between branches using their feet and wings after acquiring the feathers necessary for flight.
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