Oil-covered owl makes full recovery
After rehabilitation, snowy returned to wild
What a difference three months can make.
A snowy owl found covered in oil and unable to fly in December in Milwaukee was successfully rehabilitated by wildlife staff at the Wisconsin Humane Society and released to the wild Sunday.
The bird, a first-year female named “Annabelle” by the staff, spent 93 days in treatment at the WHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Milwaukee.
When admitted the snowy was soaked in oil and in respiratory distress and had injuries to its wings, likely from scooting along the ground after losing its ability to fly.
It would not have survived without human intervention, said Angela Speed, vice president of communications for the Wisconsin Humane Society.
The bird likely was fouled with oil following a spill at a Komatsu facility on the Menomonee River in Milwaukee.
But a good Samaritan found the snowy and contacted WHS, which dispatched a volunteer to collect the bird and bring it in for care.
The last three months have included multiple bathing sessions to remove the oil and contaminants, treatment with medications, bandage changes, on-site and off-site visits with veterinary specialists and flight reconditioning.
The owl exercised and gained flying strength in one of the high-ceilinged, outdoor enclosures at WHS.
Snowy owls breed in the Arctic but some fly south in winter, especially in years of high owl production. An unusually large southerly movement of the birds is called an “irruption.”
This winter qualifies, said Ryan Brady
of the Department of Natural Resources. As of mid-January 160 snowy owls were recorded in 54 counties, double the total of the past three winters, according to the DNR. It’s the first snowy owl irruption in Wisconsin since the winter of 2017-18, Brady said.
The birds often settle down for the winter along frozen lakefronts or in agricultural areas where they hunt waterfowl, rodents and other prey.
The owls typically begin heading north in March or April.
So the timing of Annabelle’s recovery was fortuitous. The owl was fed meat items, mostly mice, as well as nutritional supplements during its recovery, said WHS wildlife director Crystal SharlowSchaefer.
Once the bird was cleaned and its injuries had healed sufficiently, it was placed in an outdoor enclosure at WHS.
The move helped reduce the birds’ stress, allowed it to exercise its flight muscles and kept it cooler, SharlowSchaefer said.
The bird was fitted with a federal bird band on one leg which will allow it to be identified in the future.
As the weeks passed, wildlife staff became increasingly confident Annabelle would be able to be released.
“She was quite the spunky patient,” Sharlow-Schaefer said. “We loved her but she showed us over and over again she has the tenacity to survive.”
On Saturday the bird was deemed fit for release and Sunday morning was loaded into a large pet carrier and driven north a few hours to an area other snowies had recently been sighted.
The bird flew away well even in the blustery conditions.
The WHS staff extended its thanks to Komatsu Mining and members of the public for financial donations that helped fund care of the owl.
“I can’t express what a joy and relief it was to see the snowy owl soar off into the skies,” said Sharlow-Schaefer.