On the Monday after the Blizzard of 2013 hit Cape Cod, we got an unusual visitor – an adult Eastern Screech Owl fell into our fireplace. At first I actually didn’t know it was an owl, I just saw a dark grey or black living thing hopping around in the soot. I knew I had to move fast to save the animal plus make sure things didn’t become completely chaotic in my house so I sprang into action. I immediately opened the fireplace grate to let whatever it was escape from the fire, quickly put my cat into another room and opened a window close by so the creature could escape. When I returned to the fireplace, I discovered the animal was an owl. He had climbed away from the fire, but instead of flying away he was perched on a large log. I collect owl figurines and have hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes, so it was very surreal to actually have a fairly large live one sitting in my living room. My first concern was that it had been burned or otherwise hurt. My second concern was my own safety because I know enough about owls to know that they are predators like eagles and hawks, possessing razor sharp talons.
I couldn’t figure out if it was hurt by looking at it as it wasn’t moving and had its eyes closed – only later did I read that the behavior the owl exhibited was a defense mechanism. Owls will do whatever they can to blend into the forest when threatened – even slightly changing the shape of their face and closing their bright yellow eyes. I figured the owl was probably ok because it stood upright and didn’t fall over, but I couldn’t be sure. Of course I had no internet (power and cable was out all over Cape Cod) to Google what to do, and Mr. Owl was perched right in front of some bookshelves with all my books about wildlife…So for a while I just sat and looked at him with a mixture of concern and confusion.
I tried to see if G was available, but he was busy in a meeting. When he finally finished his meeting I told him we had a visitor. At first G actually thought the owl was a statue that I had picked up for my owl collection – he looked so cute sitting on the log next to the fireplace. G had no idea what to do either, we both called IFAW, the ASPCA and a friend who volunteers at the Brewster Natural History Museum. Of course noone answered as it was late on a Monday night. Besides, with all the snow, were they even able to reach us? We didn’t think it a good idea to call the police – with so many elderly without power post-Blizzard and other catastrophes going on such as blocked roads, fallen trees and downed wires – the owl seemed like a silly reason to call 911.
Our plan was to leave it in a guest bedroom with food and water, and that I would call a local Wildlife Organization the next day (I wasn’t going to put it outside to get eaten by predators if it couldn’t fly or protect itself). G lifted the large log into a large plastic bin while the owl remained motionless. We tried one last time to entice it out the window, even though we weren’t sure it could even fly. After sitting quietly for a few minutes the owl finally opened its eyes, peered intently out the window, turned its head about 360 degrees and looked at me – and flew off. I went outside to make sure it wasn’t injured and saw it safely perched in a tree nearby where it was busily grooming, preening and shuffling its wings.
The next day I got in touch with the state to get phone numbers in case anything like this ever happens again. The Humane Society of the United States has a local office on the Cape in Yarmouth Port – their number is 508-362-0111. If you cannot physically take an injured wild animal there – they contact the Cape Cod Wildlife Department at 508-790-6272. I had an acquaintance tell a story about how she picked up a badly injured squirrel on the side of the road and ended up in the emergency room bleeding profusely with a bad bite. As much as you or I might love wildlife, the key here is that they are, in fact, wild. My friend’s experience is  a good reminder that no matter how cute an animal is there is a potential danger in handling one when you are not a professional. It was recommended to me that a 911 call would have been appropriate in the case of wildlife being trapped in a home, but I guess my gut told me deal with this the way we did.
I am sorry we didn’t get a photo, but our first concern was getting this owl safely out of the house without him or us being injured. Although nerve-wracking for both ourselves and the owl, it was cool because it isn’t every day we get to see an owl up close. I am not sure what the owl thought of us, but I like to think the 360 degree head turn before he (or she) flew off was an owlish thank-you gesture.
This incident was an unusual chance to learn a little more about these enigmatic creatures and experience the nature we love so much firsthand. The Mass Audobon Society asks everyone to report bird sightings so they can track the health of various bird populations. I encourage you to do that here.
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