For owls that are superb.
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US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now
International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com
Australia Rescue Help: WIRES
Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org
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.
Community Rules:
Posts must be about owls. Especially appreciated are photographs (not AI) and scientific content, but artwork, articles, news stories, personal experiences and more are welcome too.
Be kind. If a post or comment bothers you, or strikes you as offensive in any way, please report it and moderators will take appropriate action.
AI is discouraged. If you feel strongly that the community would benefit from a post that involves AI you may submit it, but it might be removed if the moderators feel that it is low-effort or irrelevant.
Also visit our twinned community for wholesome content:
From Shannon Sommer
Looking through old photos and I found this oldie but goodie from Spring 2024. This was taken with my old Nikon. An American Barn owl has a stand-off with a raven. It lasted quite a while until the raven finally relented and took off. The owl was left to triumph!
Los Angeles County
Well, there is some good to the situation depending on how one wishes to look at it.
The owls sometimes are an actual danger to the other birds. Many are generalist predators and will eat whatever they get ahold of. The other birds have to protect themselves and their families too.
The crows don't typically harm the owls, at least not the adults. The babies can get into trouble if they can't fly away, but otherwise the goal is more to just annoy the owls into moving along.
Mobbing behavior is also pretty unique in the animal world, as it is one of the few activities where different species of birds will work in tandem to drive off the owls. They all somehow understand that it's in their collective interest to get the predators out, and they will team up to intimidate the raptors. Not cool for the owl, but very cool for us human observers.