Tag: owls

Good friend and world class wildlife rehabilitator Jane Kelly called the other day – she was releasing a young Barred Owl back into the wild after nursing it back to health, was I interested. Ok, it’s hard not to be facetious when answering that question – seeing raptors up close, having the opportunity to watch them return to their natural habitat, heck just seeing an owl instead of just hearing it – how could a person pass up that opportunity.

So this beauty, which had been hit by a car, was so ready to take off – biting Jane, clacking it’s beak ( reminded me of the sound of the alien in Predator). Jane let it go and it took off to the trees like it had been shot from a cannon. Immediately perched on a branch and started taking in it’s surroundings. What a moment.

After, Jane brought out a Eurasian eagle Owl – the largest in the owl family, which looked like a great horned owl on steroids and had the most piercing eyes I’ve ever seen .

Just another amazing experience with this lady who is so comfortable with birds of prey, birds that stir both awe and fear in most of us. Her raptor rehabilitation work is supported by visits to schools to educate the rest of us about raptors – interested, leave a comment or send me an email – I’ll connect you to the coolest raptor lady ever.