A few months ago, customers entering an Anthem, Arizona, CVS were surprised to find a fledgling owl huddled near the store’s front door. While the owl appeared unharmed, he didn’t seem to be able to fly away on his own.
Wild At Heart
When the customers looked up, they saw something even more surprising. Staring down from atop the CVS sign were the owl’s concerned parents.
Wild At Heart
It turns out that a few weeks earlier, a great horned owl family had set up their nest on a ledge right above the pharmacy’s drive-thru. Since the overhang was in such a busy area, the CVS workers were concerned about the baby’s safety.
“[Great horned owls] don’t build great nests,” Beth Edwards, volunteer at Wild At Heart raptor rescue, told The Dodo. “They either inhabit something else, like someone else’s nest, or they can lay eggs in the crook of something.”
Wild At Heart
The CVS workers got in contact with Wild At Heart rescue, who said they would come help at the first sign of trouble. They knew that at some point, the baby owl would end up on the ground.
“All birds, when they get too big for the nest … fledge,” Edwards said. “So they have to leave the nest and spend time on the ground. That’s just a normal part of birds and their development.”
Sure enough, soon after, the baby got stranded after a practice flight. While it’s standard for fledgling owls to spend time on the ground, a busy CVS storefront isn’t a safe place for a young bird.
“[W]ith all the foot traffic, we knew he needed a quieter spot,” Wild At Heart wrote on Facebook.
Wild At Heart
Edwards came to collect the owlet and bring him to safety. When he arrived at Wild At Heart’s rescue and rehabilitation facility, they gave him a quick medical checkup and found he was perfectly healthy. The volunteers decided to name him Script, after the CVS he was rescued from.
Script was placed with an owl foster family, who will help him develop the skills he’ll need to survive on his own.
Wild At Heart
“He’s able to fly and will continue to grow up here over the summer,” Edwards said.
Once Script is ready, he’ll be released into the wild. Thanks to the attentive CVS workers and the caring Wild At Heart volunteers, he has a safe place to grow up and spread his wings.
If you’d like to support Script and other Wild At Heart animals, you can make a donation here.
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