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Is This Screech Owl in Trouble with the Mafia?!

Nope, it's just a cast for its tiny toes!

From Florida Keys Wildlife Rehab

These boots are more than iust fashionable footwear

When birds come into our center with injured feet or toes, we apply sturdy booties to their feet to help with the healing process. This young Eastern Screech Owl was admitted after not being turned in as soon as they were found fallen from a nest. Upon admission, his toes were fractured and he was unable to perch or stand properly. We fitted him with corrective booties to allow his toes to heal and develop properly.

9 comments

  • I have to wonder just how noisy that rehab center is. Is it a cacaphony? Or are the owls mostly silent?

    • I haven't been inside with any owls yet, but they usually seem pretty quiet once they are in hand when I see them being caught or treated in videos. As you approach them, they will puff up and hiss and click. The hiss is quieter than a cat hiss IMO, but the beak clicking is louder than I first expected.

      For the rehab as a whole, it can get a bit crazy. I've mostly been stuck in one of the larger areas with all the squirrels, and while they don't chitter very much as a whole, they are still constantly jumping and climbing and wrestling in their cages, and 100+ squirrels all randomly bouncing around on thin metal isn't a quiet thing, especially after prolonged amounts of time.

      I haven't been down in the bird room yet, but I hear it's starting to fill in. They told me the birds used to be up with the squirrels too, but the noise was just too much and was driving everyone insane. A hundred bouncy squirrels plus numerous bird species all going at once in a confined space doesn't sound like the most pleasant environment. 🀯

      I've only seen one owl stay inside, and that was just because it was too busy to check him out right away. He ended up not making it, but otherwise the owls seem to go in the outside pens right away if possible.

      • A hundred bouncy squirrels plus numerous bird species all going at once in a confined space doesn't sound like the most pleasant environment

        Not to mention downright cruel. It's like caging a child across the room from a cage full of cotton candy.

        I was thinking of the screech owls. It's just their natural call, and it's quite piercing, as you're well aware; does being in rehab stop them from vocalizing? I can't imagine being in an enclosed space with a shrieking screech owl.

  • D'awww poor thing hopefully the pain eases quickly

    • Me too. Especially looking at those legs in the sitting pic, this one looks built to strut!

9 comments