Arwen’s comment was the inspiration for this post.<\/p>\n
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Many readers will remember this beautiful Barn Owl that Mia and I found hanging from barbed wire five years ago in southwest Montana’s Centennial Valley. His left wing was so badly entangled in the wire I couldn’t free the bird without risking further damage to the wing so I had to use wire cutters to cut the wire. It’s a long story but he was eventually delivered to the Montana Raptor Resource Center (MRCC) in Bozeman in the hope that with the proper care he would eventually recover so he could be released back into the wild.<\/p>\n
I was hopeful but not optimistic because his wing appeared to be at least moderately mangled. If certain tendons were torn or fragile bones broken the outcome would likely be euthanasia or at best amputation and placement of the bird to a properly licensed educational organization.<\/p>\n
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Copyright MRCC. Image used by permission<\/em><\/p>\n This is the same owl at MRCC in Bozeman during recovery. Thankfully there were no broken bones but there was significant soft tissue damage that would take time to heal. But he wouldn’t eat in captivity for a long time and that was of great concern for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n But eventually he began to eat, healed up, and was ready for release.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright MRCC. Image used by permission<\/em><\/p>\n And MRCC didn’t just take him to the nearest open field to release him. They drove him all the way back to the Centennial Valley, a distance of about 190 miles (much of it dirt\/gravel roads), and released him in the approximate area where Mia and I found him on the wire. Barn Owls are rare to unheard of in MT (it’s too cold up there and they don’t migrate) so they wanted to release him in an area he was familiar with that had been of his own choosing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright MRCC. Image used by permission<\/em><\/p>\n And here he is, flying toward the foothills of the Gravelly Range. And to freedom.<\/p>\n So why am I telling this story again? I wanted to make the point that MRCC was the vital cog in this wheel. Without them the efforts of everyone else involved (and there were many) would have been fruitless. The owl simply could not have survived without the healing facilities and efforts of a host of staff, volunteers and veterinarians at MRCC. And all that is expensive so I think those of us who love birds should do whatever we can to support bird and wildlife rescue, rehab and educational organizations. And there’s more than one way to do it.<\/p>\n Some volunteer their time, labor and love to those organizations as a way of paying back. Arwen (mentioned above) is in example as are many of my friends and blog readers including Tana Peery Hunter, April Olson and her daughter Haley and many others. But that’s something I simply cannot do for a reason that may seem wimpy to the extreme but it is what it is. I’ll try to explain.<\/p>\n I’m an animal person through and through and I’ve had a dog most of my life. My first dog, Skippy – a cocker spaniel, was born on the day I was born and my folks bought him for me soon after. I had Skippy for 13 years – he loved hunting “gophers” and he was the perfect companion for a kid growing up on a remote Montana farm.<\/p>\n My last dog was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Tommy (he already had that name when I bought him as a pup). Talk about attached – me to him and vice versa! Tommy went almost everywhere I went unless I was working. He was fine home alone all day but when we were traveling it was another story. The only way he would relax when I was visiting out-of-town family and friends and had to leave him for a few hours was for me to throw an article of my clothing on the floor that smelled of me. He would immediately curl up on it and stay there contentedly until I returned. That might annoy a lot of folks but I found it endearing.<\/p>\n Sandwiched in-between Skippy and Tommy were a handful of other dogs but one of them stood out. His name was Jake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jake was a Springer Spaniel (yes, I have a thing for spaniels) who loved to climb trees. This photo is black and white because I had my own darkroom back then. Jake was a drooler and rambunctious but I loved him. He got me through some tough and lonely times, including a divorce.<\/p>\n I could go on and on about my dogs but I’ll make my point now. Dogs just don’t live long enough and I’m an emotional wreck for weeks or months when I lose one. I take their loss much too hard. I had to have Jake put down late in the evening on Christmas Eve during a visit to see my parents near Montrose, Colorado and I was a basket case for much too long. I haven’t had a dog for over ten years now, largely because I just can’t handle losing them.<\/p>\n And knowing how I feel about animals, raptors especially, I just know how I’d react to the tragic loss of birds I’ve been caring for if I volunteered for rehab or rescue organizations. I would just become too attached so I don’t do it, never have and never will.<\/p>\n But there are other ways to pay my debt to birds and support organizations that work on their behalf. I’m a bird photographer and these types of organizations often need quality photos of birds for promotional and fund raising purposes so when asked I donate my images without hesitation. I also make monetary donations when I feel like I can. These organizations typically operate on a shoestring budget so donations of cash or supplies are critical. The recipients of my support include Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah<\/a>, HawkWatch International<\/a>, Montana Raptor Conservation Center<\/a>, Cascades Raptor Center<\/a>, The Peregrine Fund<\/a> and others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright WRCNU. Image used by permission<\/em><\/p>\n Meet Rory, an Eagle Scout candidate whose efforts on the behalf of Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah resulted in a motherlode of donated supplies. You can imagine how many supplies rehab organizations need. WRCNU goes through 12 rolls of paper towels each and every day and the rest of their list of needed supplies is almost endless. Rory is proof that an individual can make a huge difference.<\/p>\n So there’s some way that everyone can help. Volunteer, donate supplies, donate cash or be creative depending on your own situation. Wildlife rehab and education organizations are found in virtually every city and many smaller towns and each of them is staffed by employees and volunteers with huge hearts and an endless need for equipment and supplies. Please help if you can.<\/p>\n Ok, I’m done. This turned out to be a marathon post so if you got through the entire thing I applaud you. If you couldn’t wade through all of it, blame Arwen and not me… \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bird and wildlife rescue, rehab and educational organizations deserve our support and there are many ways we can provide it.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/barn-owl-release-1c-MRCC.jpg\" "\\"barn-owl-release-1c-MRCC\\"")
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