OWL - Final Chapter.

I finished my training at OWL yesterday, week four and five were a mix of interesting cases, a lot of bird handling, humble lessons and emotions. I had a great time at OWL, I learned a lot at this facility in a very short period. Staff and volunteers gave me a lot of trust and involved me in a lot of actions. I was very fortunate to work with these experienced people, many thanks to all of you! I had a lot of fun with other international and canadian volunteers! This crazy duo, Liron and Jordan even tried to train a chicken.

Meet Snoopy, one of Liron's favourites...This Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is OWL's smallest permanent and often goes to schools and events to teach people all about owls and the facility. They have an average weight of 80g and are ounce per ounce one of the most dangerous raptors! I had the privilege to feed Stella (Buteo jamaicensis) on the glove a couple of times and to work with the new glovetrained Barn Owl (Tyto Alba), Alba.

Alba will be a new educational bird, she never recovered from a humerus fracture in her right wing. OWL already has Sarah as a permanent Barn Owl but she's not always in the right mood to go on off-sites. She spends her days on a perch in the common room. Hopefully, Alba will do better...I can't help it, I love Barn Owls!

Red-tailed Hawks are difficult birds to work with, these raptors kill their prey by asphyxiation. They'll literally squeeze the life out of their prey and that's what they'll try to do with your hand or arm is they grab you before you grab them. You always have to be careful and alert around these magnificient raptors. One of my favourites at the facility is Ladyhawk.

A lot of people mix up juvenile Bald Eagles with Golden Eagles eventhough it are completely different birds and if you take a closer look you will see what I mean. They aren't even family...juvenile Bald versus juvenile Golden, find the ten differences.



An interesting project at OWL is the Poolcage. A rehab cage for Ospreys and Bald Eagles where they can test their fishing skills on the trout in the pool. The juvenile Osprey that flies over the pool is the same bird that came in on my first week at OWL (see picture week one). It's awesome to see the progress this bird made in a couple of weeks.

This was an unforgettale experience for me. This first introduction to raptor-rehab and falconry opened a lot of new perspectives for the future. Unfortunately, you have to deal with the hard moments as well. One of OWL's favourite permanents, Goldie, lost her long battle against a chronical infection of her feet, OWL had her since 1992. Luckely there's Pygar, a young and powerful Golden Eagle trained by Barb to take her place. It was to early for me to get him on the glove so all I could do was watch and learn.

So long raptors and owls, I'll be back one day! We count our days in this amazing country, almost time to go home...The Meet The Moose Crew is still standing, see y'all soon! And hey...maybe you'll all meet Baba soon! He's big and around 4 kg...

You bet'cha...

OneLove.

T H TH.