Rehabilitation Animal of the Month: Northern Screech Owl

My late January visit to Green Bay’s Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary featured a wise-looking tiny creature who quietly lives in tree cavities.

Screech owls are not scientifically considered ‘wise’ in the human sense, but after years of filming these in the wild here in NE Wisconsin, I can ascertain they are highly specialized, intelligent predators with instincts for survival.

Their reputation for wisdom stems from their large, forward-facing eyes, intense, motionless staring and silent, mysterious behavior.

They are, however, skilled at camouflaging themselves as tree bark and staying silent to avoid predators like Great Horned Owls.

Car hit

Wildlife Sanctuary Senior Curator, Lori Bankson, brought our rehabilitation animal of the month out to the showroom, with protective gloves.

“She is a good size female. She came to us in November from Outagamie County and was hit by a car,” Bankson said.

“She could be releasable in spring, hopefully April, in a selective area in the wild so she has a chance to breed eventually” Bankson said, highlighting great progress in the 2 months she has so far spent, well cared for at the Wildlife Sanctuary.

ICU

Her wing, a leg injury and her left eye were the areas that were most affected by the accident. “She was in our ICU Department for two weeks. Fluid, hand-feeding and special meds helped and we are very excited for the progress,” Bankson said.

“This breeding adult looked very alert and seemingly wanted to escape Bankson’s grip with an “I don’t want to be by you-type attitude,” which Bankson confirmed is a good sign.

She was, however, “pretty badly wounded in one wing” when she came in, as described by Bankson, added to the fact that she was lethargic for quite a bit of time, until two weeks later she decided she “had enough” and became more alert.

“She loves mice, small chicks and waxworms. She is eating well,” Bankson said.
Kestrel ambassador

It was striking to the eye the almost one foot long span in each wing of the screech owl.

“She came to us a year ago, she is a great little ambassador, amazing hunter,” Bankson said. She is joining Claude, the male kestrel the Sanctuary has had for years.

Bankson said that, as opposed to the screech owl, Amelia the kestrel loves crowds “and
mealworms” for a snack, Bankson said giggling.

Frosty Family Fun Night

Frosty Family Fun Night, Feb. 7, is the Sanctuary’s next fundraiser event and is open to the public.

“We have lights outside, 2 bon fires, music, food, light-decorated hikes,” Bankson said.

More information can be found on the Sanctuary’s website https://www.greenbaywi.gov/WLS.

Bankson said this is a popular event and, depending on the weather, they expect 3,000 to 10,000 visitors for this upcoming fundraiser.

How to help

Bankson said if residents find an animal in obvious need of help, they should call the sanctuary’s animal care line at (920) 391-3685.

“Not all animals require long-term help,” she said, noting the only help some species need is to put them back into their nest, den or habitat area.

Bankson said volunteers are always needed. For more info about volunteering, visit baybeachwildlife.com.