NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1293505
October 2020 • Nebraskaland 47 not been fed. The landowners were also keeping an eye out for the adult birds, but no sightings were made. The young owls' next journey would be to the Raptor Recovery Center in Elmwood, a move that would depend on a relay of devoted volunteers who could transport them to the center. But until they could be taken, they needed human care so they wouldn't get dehydrated or hungry. Luckily, I had access to some game meat in my freezer. However, the owlets wouldn't eat the food I placed in their cage, so force-feeding was the next step. While one would typically give owls food with hair or feathers, since this is how they would eat food in the wild, I didn't have that luxury at the time. Instead, I put food in their mouths when they opened them; once they fi gured out they were getting food, they cooperated and were eager to feed. Adult owls eat around two mice a night, and owlets usually eat as many as fi ve mice in a single night to help them grow. This kept them alive until they could be taken to the Raptor Recovery Center. There, the owlets were matched with a surrogate male barn owl that fed and cared for them. Nimbus was an owl that couldn't be released back into the wild, so he became an educational bird and surrogate. Dead mice were provided in the pen to Nimbus, and he in turn answered the calls of the hungry young owls and took the mice to them. The owlets imprinted on him so there was little human interaction with the birds. Once the owlets were fully fl edged, or feathered, and could fl y, they were placed in a fl ight pen where they learned to hunt on their own like they would have in nature. Mice were placed in a large stock tank with leaves, litter and weeds so the owls could learn to search and catch their food. After learning these skills, they were ready to be released back into the wild. In August, I received a call from Rachelle Allbery-McQuade, a Raptor Recovery volunteer, who told me that she was releasing the owls that day. She had gotten permission to let the owls go near a barn a few miles from where they hatched so they could fi nd protection from weather and predators. I couldn't believe how beautiful these once-scraggly owlets that I rescued had become. Their feathers had all come in, and they had put on weight and were ready to start life on their own. As Rachelle let the birds go, I felt a little sad knowing that I might not see them again, but knew in my heart that they had a great chance at a life in nature where they belong. N From left, the author's granddaughters, Lexus and Paislee, and neighbors Hunter and Jen Maseberg were curious to learn more about barn owls and to see them up close. Owl Pellets Owl pellets are cast through the mouth of an owl and other birds of prey. The pellets are simply the remains of undigested food, such as the hair and bones of rodents or feathers and bones of small birds. Pellets resemble a hairball and, for the curious, can be fun to dissect to see what the owls have been eating. Voles, shrews, fi eld mice and other rodents make up the majority of an owl's diet. Pellets of a barn owl with bones of prey included. PHOTO BY JULIE GEISER PHOTOS BY BONI EDWARDS