CRANKY CUSTOMER: Flying fast through an open window to catch an indoor kitten bathed in light in a child’s bedroom, this barred owl missed the kitten, hit the drywall hard and was knocked out cold. It actually made a dent in the drywall!
When Merrilee from Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society (PROWLS) arrived to scoop it up and send it to Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL) in Delta, it was finally standing but still stunned, suffering from a serious concussion, and it was cranky.
After two months of rehab at OWL, it returned to the qathet region at dusk. Back at the kitten’s house, it was still complaining, cranky, and then reluctant to leave the cage, regardless of Merrilee’s vigorous efforts to shake it out. Finally, reaching in and grabbing it in a towel, she pulled it out of the cage and it flew off onto a power pole in the front yard (the kitten was watching.)
Having a good look around and recognizing its familiar neighbourhood, the owl flew up higher into a tree. We hope it now stays clear of bedrooms and kittens.
Barred owls live year-round in mixed forests of large trees, often near water. They don’t move around very much or migrate. Of 158 birds that were banded and then found later, none had moved further than six miles away.
Despite this generally sedentary nature, they have recently expanded their range into the Pacific Northwest.
