Fledgling Barn Owls 20-474 and 20-475
One never knows what adventure or challenge a day may bring. Last Friday it was Barn Owls trapped in a chimney. Bob and I headed out with three sections of aluminum handle from a roof rake, a small net (better for catching songbirds, but small enough to fit down the chimney) and a roll of duct tape. When we arrived, there was an extension ladder propped up against the chimney on the outside of the house. Inside, a fireplace insert had been partially pulled out of the fireplace.
The only way to get a good view of the chimney from the fireplace was to sit down on the hearth, lean back and scoot into the fireplace on my back. Oh to be young and flexible. There was no sign of an owl from that angle.
One owl was visible from the top of the ladder however. It looked like it was about 15 feet from the top. We assembled the roof rake handle and duct-taped the net to one end. Up the ladder and down the chimney with the owl net. The owl was not impressed. It expressed its displeasure in a way only Barn Owls can do, with loud hissing. I could get the owl to grab the net, but I couldn’t get it into the net. The space at the bottom of the chimney was larger than the chimney. The owl was standing on top of the firebox, next to the flue and could easily out-maneuver my net.
It was time to go to plan B. The homeowner fashioned a lattice-work grid out of lath and electrical tape and fastened it to the long handle. Once at the bottom of the chimney, the grid could each into the corners where the owl was hiding. The plan was to force the owl to go down the flue into the fireplace where I would be waiting to catch it. The owl didn’t like the plan. Instead, it climbed onto the grid and perched there as the contraption was pulled out of the chimney. One owl captured!.
I had seen a second owl that appeared to be dead when I was trying to net the first owl. Leaving the owl in the chimney did not seem like a good idea. We thought our contraption could be used to sweep the dead owl to the flue and into the fireplace. Again, the owl didn’t like the plan and began to hiss. Apparently it wasn’t dead! Neither was it very cooperative. It wouldn’t stay on the grid so it could be raised up out of the chimney, nor would it go down the flue. After a few minutes it stopped hissing and moving. We couldn’t hear it and we couldn’t find it. We finally had to admit we couldn’t find the owl and gave up the search.
We loaded our make-shift tool and the one Barn Owl into the van. As we were backing out of the driveway there was a commotion from the house. The second owl had been found! It was wedged in the flue. I could reach one leg. After some maneuvering the second leg was secured and the owl was freed.
Followup: Both owls were probably in the chimney less than 24 hours. One cast a large pellet on the way back to the clinic. The other cast a pellet during the night. They are a good weight. We don’t know the status of the parents - a dead owl was found in the yard earlier in the day. It could have been another fledgling or an adult. The body had already been disposed of so there was no way to know. These two owls will go to the hack site were they can be released and fed as they continue to perfect their flight and hunting skills.
The home owner installed a spark arrestor on the chimney to prevent future avian intruders from a similar fate. And, yes, I was covered with soot from head to toe.
Below is a short video of the owls hissing. It gets much loader when they are really upset.
