When Hope for Wildlife received a call about a baby owl who had seemingly fallen from his nest, the rescuers knew they had to help. They headed out to the home in Nova Scotia and found the fluffy baby curled up in the yard right next to the house. He was clearly too young to be on his own, so the volunteer, Louis Barriault, began to search for where he’d come from.
Unfortunately, Barriault quickly ran into a problem: There were no nests in the nearby trees. He was a bit stumped, but luckily someone stepped in to help.
Hope for Wildlife
“A neighbor mentioned hearing an owl the evening before on a nearby property, and Louis went exploring to see if he could find a nest,” George Ryan, senior education and internship coordinator at Hope for Wildlife, told The Dodo. “After about an hour of searching the wooded areas nearby, he noticed a large amount of owl pellets under a hemlock tree.”
All signs suggested that Barriault was on the right track, and then he came across the biggest clue of all: another baby owl.
Hope for Wildlife
Suddenly, there were two babies who needed to find their way back home, and Barriault was more determined than ever to make that happen. As he surveyed the tree, he saw an empty nest about 30 feet off the ground, then spotted the mama owl watching everything unfold from a different tree.
Barriault placed both babies in a cardboard box and checked them over to make sure they were healthy and unharmed. They were both a little frightened, so he covered them with a towel to help calm them down while he figured out next steps.
Hope for Wildlife
Barriault knew it would be too hard to try to put the owls back into their original nest and began brainstorming what to do. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.
“Word about the owlets had started to spread, and neighbors had started coming by to see if they could help,” Ryan said. “One had a 25-foot ladder, and another had a large wicker basket — perfect for a new nest because it has great drainage for when it rains. With the help of some neighborhood kids, Louis decorated the nest a bit with some branches and lined it with some dry leaves.”
Hope for Wildlife
While the neighbors held the ladder steady, Barriault climbed up and secured the new nest, then gently placed the baby owls inside, safe and sound.
“The mother great horned owl was watching the entire time, and once we had cleared the area and she was sure everything was safe, she eventually flew down and started tending to her young in the basket,” Ryan said.
Hope for Wildlife
The entire neighborhood came together to ensure the baby owls got home safely, and now they’re thriving in their new nest.
To help other babies in need, you can donate to Hope for Wildlife.
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