VW releases Northern Saw-whet Owl!

On Tuesday, we received a call on our wildlife advisory telephone regarding a small "baby owl" down on the ground breathing very heavily in Glen Cove. Luckily, we were able to send out one of our rescue transport volunteers, Jim Jones, to evaluate the owl. Expecting him to return with an Eastern Screech Owl, we were surprised to learn the owl was actually a Northern Saw-whet owl!

This small adult owl was the unfortunate victim of an auto collision. Building and auto collisions are especially common at this time of year when many birds are beginning their winter migration. When the owl arrived at our hospital, he was dehydrated, weak and suffering from head trauma. After giving him some fluids and supportive care, we set him up in a carrier for the night with some dead mice and hoped for the best. We were happy to see the next morning that the owl made it through the night and devoured his dinner. After a couple more days of rest in a carrier, we decided it was time to move him to an indoor aviary. Having some doubts about his ability to see out of his right eye, we were worried that the owl would have difficulty with the challenge of catching live, moving prey. We left him overnight to test his hunting abilities and were dismayed the next day when he did not catch any food. The next night, we decided to give the owl another shot with live prey. On Friday, he finally came around and proved that he was still a skilled hunter. We are thrilled to report that late this afternoon, the little Northern Saw-whet owl was successfully released back to the wild!

Northern Saw-whet owls are the smallest species of owl we have on Long Island. The adults only reach 7-8 inches long at maturity. They prefer to roost in densely wooded areas with pines, hemlocks and cedars. The Northern Saw-whet owl gets its name from the mechanical sound it makes, which is likened to the sound of a saw being sharpened. While some Saw-whet owls are resident here year round, Long Island also provides a stopover for many Saw-whets flying along the Atlantic Coast in Fall and Spring Migration.