What to do with an injured owl:

If you find an injured owl that needs help, you'll want to get the bird to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. By law, rehabbers can't charge you money to treat a wild bird, but if you do bring in an injured bird, make a donation to the rehabber to help cover the costs of treating the owl or hawk. Medical treatment is costly, so it's great if you can help defray the expense. Use a blanket or coat to gently scoop up the injured bird and place it in a cardboard box with air holes. The most dangerous part of an injured raptor are the feet (sharp talons, strong grasp), so wear leather gloves if you can as you scoop up the bird. Keep the bird in a cool (not cold and definitely not hot) place away from noise and pets and transport it as soon as possible to a rehabber. Do not try to feed the bird or give it water. For the gold standard of treatment, take the injured bird to the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic in Grafton, MA. That's who treats our birds if they are ill or injured. www.tufts.edu/vet/wildlife/service.html

Try these websites to locate a rehabber:

www.tc.umn.edu/%7Edevo0028/contact.htm - (How to locate a rehabilitator)

www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/rehab/wildlife_rehab_index.htm

Which owls are on the Massachusetts List of Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species?

www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/species_info/mesa_list/mesa_list.htm

Snowy Owl Telemetry Research Project

Snowy Owls seem drawn to Boston's Logan Airport and that's where Norman Smith of Mass Audubon has been studying them. He also relocates them to less dangerous wintering grounds. www.massaudubon.org/Birds_and_Birding/snowyowl/index.php

The Owls of Harry Potter

Sure, sure, we all know that Harry's owl is a Snowy but what owl is Pigwigeon? Find out here: http://lauraerickson.com/bird/Species/Owls/HarryPotter/HarryPotter.html

Owl Pellet Dissection

Want to dissect a pellet but don't have one handy? Try a virtual dissection. www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm

The Owl Institute

Denver Holt, founder of the Owl Research Institute, has been studying Snowy Owls in the Alaskan arctic and Long-eared Owls in Montana for years. He grew up in Massachusetts. www.owlinstitute.org. For a National Geographic story about Denver Holt and Snowy Owls, check this out: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0212/feature6/index.html

The Owl Pages

If you want one stop hooting for everything owl, then check out the Owl Pages. You'll find tons of useful owl information with links galore. www.owlpages.com

Owl Cam

This is one of our favorite owl websites. Check in on the doings of barred owls nesting in an eastern Massachusetts town (we never learn exactly which town though). www.owlcam.com

Voices of North American Owls

If you want to learn the calls of owls you'll do well to study the recordings on this excellent CD set. Here are a couple links to learn more about it:

www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Summer2006/voices_owls.html

www.sapsuckerwoods.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WBUASW&Product_Code=5964&Category_Code=4150

Audubon Societies of New England

If New Hampshire had a state owl, the Barred Owl would be it. Check this site out for tips and walks that might help you find a Barred Owl. www.nhaudubon.org/birding.php

If a Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl or Boreal Owl turns up in Maine this site is a good place to find out about it. www.maineaudubon.org/nature/birdalert.shtml

Try to make it to Rhode Island Audubon's Raptor Festival in September where you'll get to see owls, hawks and eagles on display. www.asri.org/#/?i=9

Join a Connecticut bird walk in winter and maybe you'll find a Snowy Owl. www.ctaudubon.org

A great way to learn about a new area in Vermont (or anywhere) is to join a guided bird walk. http://vt.audubon.org

And the Massachusetts Audubon Society is at www.massaudubon.org

Massachusetts Bird Sightings

Sign up for their list serve emails to keep tabs on what birders are seeing in the state. These reports can be a good source of owl sightings: www.massbird.org

The Vermont Institute of Natural Science

Want to see a Great Gray Owl or a Short-eared Owl? You'll want to visit VINS in person and see their impressive raptor exhibit. www.vinsweb.org

YouTube Owls

Hey, these owl people look familiar! Yep, that's us. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v19exuCRC7U

NECN on Barred Owls

Lots of owls get struck by cars. Not all are killed. www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/Record-number-of-Barred-Owls-getting-injured/1202337501.html

Global owl project

www.globalowlproject.com

Owl boxes

For Do-It-Yourselfers:

Barn Owl boxes: www.barnowltrust.org.uk/infopage.html?Id=42

Screech Owl box: http://www.audubonmagazine.org/backyard/backyard0201.html

If you want to purchase a pre-made owl nesting box, check here -

www.bestnest.com/bestnest/owl_houses.asp

www.wildbirdstoreonline.com/owl-houses.aspx

All text and photographs ©2010 Mark Wilson. Reuse for web or print not permitted.