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US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now
International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com
Australia Rescue Help: WIRES
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If you find an injured owl:
Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.
Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.
Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.
If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.
For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.
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From Palm Beach Post
Spain has completed the return to Florida of these 2 stowaways from Feb 2025.
Originally shared here by user @Luvs2Spuj@lemmy.world Check that link out for the background on the journey these 2 sneaky owls have been on.
This is owl #1, shocked by its glamourous new anklet.
I was wondering that at first as well. I had a suspicion, which I believe I have confirmed.
So, the band itself isn't good for doing anything but essentially giving the bird a serial number. But that number is reportable by anybody. If another bander catches a banded bird at next year's migration, they can report it and that datapoint is added. If you find a dead banded bird on your property, you can report that as well.
Since this data is helpful to those who did the banding, they (at least used to) send you a little certificate for your contribution to science. This one is from this metal detectorist's video on finding a band.
Now, I don't think normally anyone would care too much, but since these birds have been in the news for the last year, they may be concerned about the selfie crowd looking to get their pics of the famous cruise ship owls and if they could work out the 8 or 9 digit number on one of the bands, they could get a general location where these guys were released. You know how people get. 🙄
So probably overly cautious, but these birds have already dealt with a great deal of stress, and living in Florida isn't getting any easier for them, so this is my best guess as to why it was blurred.
Of course, before hitting post, I quick looked around to see if all the articles blurred them out, which they did, they seem to have been blurred by Fish and Wildlife themselves, but I did see one local news source give the location where they were released. It's a big area, but I wonder if they were less than thrilled by having that info put out there.
Ahh, I couldn't figure out how the band number gave out any info of use, but if it's tied to location elsewhere, that makes sense. Thanks!
My pleasure!