One of the most joyous things for a raptor volunteer at the Outdoor Learning Center is to get to meet a new bird. It’s somewhat bittersweet, because we all understand that this is not the natural order of things, and it would be better for everyone if the bird were able to be released.
But by the time the birds get to us, the option to be released has been taken off the table by people who are in a position to know what’s possible: the bird’s rehabilitator and the bird’s veterinarian. When release is no longer an option, places like the Outdoor Learning Center become an option (if space is available).
Saw-whet owl Basalt (recovered from Basalt Rd. in Spokane, WA) injured one of his shoulders in a window strike. His flight is compromised (he cannot gain altitude), and there is some speculation that he may have some mild neurological damage (though it does not manifest in his appearance or movement). He has been in care with his vet for the last several months while we waited for our federal permits and transfers to go through. We welcomed him to the OLC two weeks ago.
We’re in the process of getting used to each other. This morning, for the first time since he arrived, I was able to get into the enclosure to clean his house and add a piece of outdoor carpet to the top of it (he spends a lot of time perching there, so it needs to be cleaned often). He watched me quietly from another platform — no panic, just a desire to not be where I was.
And when I was done working on his house, he headed right back up there.
Lack of panic at my presence, and a quick return to a perch that has been altered — those are good signs with new birds. He recognizes that the enclosure is his space, and even though he was wary of my presence, he seemed to be reasonably sure that I was only there to clean. When I removed myself, he immediately went back to the place where’s he’s comfortable, even though something about it had changed.
Saw-whet Owls are tiny — Basalt weighed 74g when he was transferred to us. For the sake of comparison, Arden (female red-tail) weighed 1,310g this morning.
We haven’t had a long-term resident “pocket owl” since Tilt (screech owl) died a few years ago, so we’re excited to get to know, and work with, Basalt.
Carmen Yount 