Screech owls are often received because a nest has been disrupted or because the nestlings are pushed out of their tree cavity early. A family of five or six young can be too large for many hollow trees. Storms with heavy winds sometimes take down the old hollow trees that house these birds. Any of these situations can put the young owls in difficult circumstances. If possible, we leave them with the parents, however, in some situations, they need our care.
They do best when housed with others of their own species.
Learning to hunt crickets, moths, and other small prey species is critical to their survival. This stage takes place in a large flight cage where they also build up flight muscles in preperation for release.
Look closely; a second owl is hiding just above the platform.
These screech owls were released at Little Swamp Sanctuary in August, when night flying insects were abundant. We could hear their trills for many nights following the release. Sometimes, one of the adult owls from our cages would answer. Other times, a wild screech owl would trill from the woods.
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