On Monday, 26th June, the local WIRES branch released a male Powerful Owl back into its territory after almost nine months in care.
Photo credit Sandy Collins The owl was originally found in the Surf Beach area by WIRES member Liz while out walking her dog. Her dog alerted her to the weird behaviour of the owl and it was quickly contained and transported to the Raptor Coordinator, Sandy Collins. Powerful Owls are a vulnerable species. "In the few years I have been Raptor Coordinator I have only had to rescue and treat two of them,” said Sandy. The owl was assessed and had feather damage as well as a luxated lens in one eye. After the owl was stabilised it was transported to the Raptor Recovery Australia (RRA), near Fitzroy Falls, for rehabilitation with WIRES' Head Raptor Veterinarian, Jana Schader. The owl was cared for and rehabilitated over the months it took for its feathers to moult, as well as, to ensure he could hunt with the lens issue. Luckily Powerful Owls use hearing more than sight for hunting. ‘Bates’ as he was nicknames by the staff proved to be an efficient hunter. He was finally given the all clear and returned to within 150m of his rescue site on Monday night. Four members of WIRES attended the release after dark. Within 30 seconds of opening the box the owl quietly took off into the night, hopefully to reunite with his partner for the breeding season.
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