Great Horned Owl Adoption On Our Blue Course!

Did you know that Great Horned Owls have such an intensive parental care instinct, that they are capable of fostering other Great Horned Owl chicks? That’s right! Owl adoption is a possibility among this species, when situations call for it. Here at Bethpage State Park we had this exact situation and were up to facilitating it!  

It started when Sweetbriar Nature Center got a call that an owl chick was found helpless on a dog run in Selden, NY. Dog owners spotted a juvenile Great Horned Owl on the ground and immediately knew something was wrong. It was not attempting to fly and too young to be out of the nest, alone. When Sweetbriar staff arrived to asses the situation, they searched but were unable to reconnect the owlet with is nest or parents. The chick was then brought back to the center which operates as a wildlife rehab. 

For two weeks, a caring staff monitored and fed the owl baby. Thankfully, no neurological damage was detected. The chick was healthy, alert and fit for re-release! That’s when Bethpage State Park got the call and became involved.

 

Isabel, Sweetbriar’s Wildlife Care Coordinator, got in touch with our raptor expert employee, Jim Jones, with the hopes of there being an appropriate owl pair that could tend to this chick in need. Luckily, this year at our park we did not have just one active owl nest but three! The mating pair on our Blue Course is currently raising two successful chicks and was deemed them the perfect fit for this adoptee.

And so, a few days short of Earth Day, Isabel and Mike (carpenter volunteer extraordinaire!) arrived early morning to re-home this chick on our Blue Course. A wooden nest box was designed and installed on to a tree trunk underneath the Blue Course owl nest. The idea was that this chick would stay in the box until it could branch and the attentive Great Horned Owl parents (already in this location) would feed and tend to this extra chick as its own. This creative approach was necessary because the original nest was far too high in the tree canopy for any of us to access. Also, if the chick were  to fall out again, it wouldn’t be as dangerous of a fall. 

To our excitement, the process went smoothly and successfully! Transferring the owlet from the carrier, up the ladder, and into the perched nestbox took only a matter of minutes (and a few nibbles of excitement to Isabel’s arm!). Nonetheless, the chick seemed comfortable, almost instantly. After a few moments of monitoring, all four of us were delighted to see the owlet staying put but peeping out of the box. It was as if the chick was checking out its new surroundings and confirmed its satisfaction! 

 Post photography and writing by Yael Weiss.