Baby Barred Owl
Rescued by Hunters
By Martha Slater

When Peter Parrish and his 11-year-old son, Pavin, went turkey hunting last weekend in the New Boston section of Rochester, they found a much smaller bird than they were looking for, but it was an experience they’ll never forget.

At about 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, it was still dark as the two hunters heard a number of owls making screaming sounds. Peter recalled that he’d heard the same sounds when he was in that same area a few days before and got a turkey. Investigating further, Pavin found a baby barred owl lying on the ground.

The two didn’t touch the bird, but when they went home, and told their story, the rest of the family (siblings PJ and Phoebe and mom, Penny) wanted to go up to see it, too.

The family decided to call Hancock resident Remy Lary, who knows a lot about birds. Remy also visited the baby owl and suggested calling the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS).

On Sunday morning, VINS’ director of wildlife services Allison Stark came out to see the baby owl. She immediately saw that the nest in the tree above was too small and the baby owl’s siblings had pushed him out, since he was the smallest one.

Stark explained that the idea that a baby bird would be rejected by its mother if it was touched by humans is untrue, because birds have no sense of smell. She scooped out more space in the nest to make it bigger, but when she put the little owl back, one of its siblings fell out, so she climbed the ladder again and returned that bird to the nest, as well.

Stark asked the Parrishes to go back and check on the owls in a few days and said she’d bring a nesting box to the site if needed.

"As soon as both babies were back in the nest, the mama owl went immediately from making worried cries to the regular ‘who cooks for you’ cries," Peter recalled. "She sounded so happy and it was like she was thanking us. We had such a great feeling as we went down the mountain."

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