The most beautiful bird I have ever seen........

Monday I recieved a phone call saying there was a Burrowing Owl with a broken wing, the woman who called was willing to stay with the Owl until I got there (which was very kind) as I was trying to rescue a Great White Egret at the time and it was going to be well over an hour until I could get to her. Burrowing Owls do not live in our area they are south of us, so I had no idea what I was going to find when I got there. Imagine my suprise when it was a Barn Owl. They are rarely seen, the SSS has only had 3 brought in to the hospital in the 38 years its been open. The Owl had its wing broken in several spots, which broke my heart as he will not be able to go back to the wild where he belongs.
The SSS is going to keep him as a permanent resident, he will be used for
educational purposes ( taken to schools and such) to teach people about
the importance of respecting wildlife. The Owl was on the ground when he was first spotted, when I got to the lake where he had been spotted we could not find him, when the patron was talking to me on the phone
she took her eyes off him and he dissapered. There was a dry lake bed (just muck left) and a very thick patch of cat tails.We spent about 10 minutes searching and spotted him cowering in the muck hidden by the vegitation, I was shocked and a bit scared when I saw the Barn owl for the first time. I had the lady pull back the cat tails so I had access for my net as I went in to get him he flipped on his back and screeched at me and stuck out his tallons. The noise they make is quite alarming, especially when your 3 feet from him. But I was blessed agian with the help of God he gave me the courage to go and get the Owl ( I was shaking) I got him in my net and carried him to dry ground and was able to get him by the legs and lift him out of my net so I could get my hands around him wings one was hanging and when I stood up his wing nearly touched the ground his wing span had to be close to 5 feet. It was an incredible

rescue and this is why I rescue birds they are a beautiful part of our

eco-system and we need to respect them and help them when they need it

but we must always enjoy them from afar and never hurt them or destroy 

their nests. I hope my blogs give you all an inside look at what it takes

to make sure we have generation after generation of wild birds. The Suncoast 

Seabird Santuary has an incredible staff of people who have made it their

lives work to ensure that when you look in the sky you see big and small 

colorful works of art, as thats what they are Gods art!