by Anna Autilio, Environmental Educator
and Grae O’Toole, Wildlife Keeper
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| The screech owl could barely open his eyes at first. |
Early in the new year, a tiny treasure arrived at the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation—a beautiful Eastern Screech Owl in need of some serious care.
The bird was found in Orwell, VT, over 65 miles from VINS, but the family who found him knew he needed medical attention. They suspected he had flown into the side of their house, which is a sadly common cause of bird injuries. They often cannot tell a clean glass window from safe passage through their forest home, and end up colliding with it.
On intake to the rehabilitation clinic, our wildlife keepers found the owl was quite dehydrated and lethargic, but in good body condition and a healthy weight (over 200g!). Beyond this, he clearly had severe head trauma. His eyes were closed and he was reluctant to open them, but both pupils were responsive to light–a sign that he could still use them.
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| A fluorescein stain shows the eye ulcer (green patch). |
To see if there was any further damage to the eye, the rehabbers conducted a fluorescein stain, a test which allowed us to see the starts of several ulcers which could impair the owl’s vision. The owl was given eye drops and pain medication, and injected with fluids to help re-hydrate him. A blood sample showed he was otherwise healthy, so the “focus” of his treatment became his eyes!
After 2 days, the little owl was eating all on his own. On his one-week anniversary in the clinic, his eyes were stained again, this time revealing one of the ulcers in his right eye had gotten much larger. This was a bit of a setback, so the eyes drops and pain meds continued.
But, only for another week. A third stain showed that the ulcer had completely resolved! In the meantime, the owl was eating well, his eyes were more open, and he was active and alert. Finally, it was time to move the screech owl to an outdoor enclosure.
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| Ready for his live prey test! |
The Eastern Screech Owl is now awaiting the chance to take his final test as a patient at VINS—the live prey test. This involves releasing a live mouse into the enclosure with the owl, and waiting to see if he can capture it. This is a very important part of the rehabilitation process for raptors that have suffered severe head or eye trauma, because their vision or mental state could still be impaired enough that they are unable to capture prey on their own. Without the ability to hunt for itself, the owl would starve.
If he catches the mouse, he passes the test, and will be released back into the wild shortly afterward. We hope to release him near where he was initially found, so that he can settle back into his own home territory.
Curious about our other owl patients at the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation? Join us on Saturday, February 24th or Sunday February 25th, 2018 for VINS’s Owl Festival! Register for the event here.