This summer, on August 4th, we received a beautiful Western Screech 0wl found in Lincoln, MT. This petite predator was found lying under the property owner’s fence with a pelvic fracture caused by colliding with that fence. When we went out there to release her, the fence was seen to be pretty discreet, which explains how this occurred. On October 17th, after over two months of TLC, we released this diminutive yet deadly bird back into the wild!
Fence collisions are another frequent cause of trauma we see that can also be prevented by the help of the people who maintain them. Just like window collisions, sometimes our avian friends are unable to see these obstacles and end up caught or injured by them. Highlighting your fences so they are more visible such as with bright colored markers (i.e. ribbons) can help reduce these incidences. Doing this even in intervals throughout the fencing, especially in areas frequented more by birds such as near their preferred tree species or hunting grounds, can make the world of difference for a little bird such as this Screech Owl!
Original pictures were a bit dark, so I brightened them up. I’ll give you both.
“If you got a problem with Screech Owls then you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinate”