Hi winds can cause damage and disrupt families…exactly what happened this past Friday.
I was alerted by a fellow photographer friend who stated that the Great Horned Owl nest we have been watching had been blown down and two of the three owlets where grounded. Dinner was put on hold and off I went to the location.
Sure enough, the nest was gone with one owlet left clinging to a branch, with the other two on the ground…after accessing the situation I felt that they needed to be checked for any injuries. It’s better to error on the side of caution than to do nothing…so off we went with the owlets in boxes to the rehabbers.
The good news was that nothing was broken and they where only a little dehydrated and hungry…next morning found the third owlet grounded, it was also checked and given a good bill of health.
Saturday afternoon a new nest ( wicker basket ) was fitted back into the tree and all three owlets returned. Then it was a wait and see how the adults would take to the new nest ?
The family unit now restored and all are doing well…since their return one owlet has fledged and doing well, while the other two are still in the basket.
This all reminds me of Dorothy and Toto in Kansas.