Continued from Part 1
From Raven Ridge Wildlife Center
05 April
Happy Easter and we have a truly remarkable story to share today.
Sometimes, circumstances unfold for a reason, and what initially seems heartbreaking can lead to something positive. Our first baby of 2026 arrived weak and underweight after being discovered at the bottom of a cold cement stairway in downtown Columbia. This Great Horned Owl was alone in an area lacking trees or safe spots for a young owl too small to be out of the nest, without a parent to protect or feed it.
Just two days before, we had received an adult female Great Horned Owl rescued from an electrical fence. She showed clear signs of nesting behavior but was unable to fly or even stand. We always strive to do what is right for our patients, ensuring their surroundings and rehabilitation environments closely resemble their natural habitats.
Hatchling and nestling owls tend to imprint easily, so placing them with a foster adult or others of their age and size is crucial. Knowing the female Great Horned Owl was still in nesting mode and the baby owl had lost its mother, our team decided to take a chance and pair the two. This was a risk we were willing to take to allow her to continue her mothering role, ensuring the baby owl would not imprint on humans and could learn from its own species. It turned out to be a win-win for both.
The relationship has developed beautifully, and we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for either owl. The adult female has taken on the role of caregiver, demonstrating strong protective instincts. We plan to release both the adult female and the baby owl together in the general area where she was rescued. Having the baby owl released with her will provide the necessary support from an adult that raised it, in case of any need for assistance.
One of the greatest rewards our team experiences is ensuring that our patients receive top-quality care and natural comfort during their rehabilitation.
Muwhahaha now’s my chance to grab an owlet and . . .
. . . On . . second thought I just remembered an important meeting I should get to . . .
I am soooo glad she didn’t take out her frustrations she had in that face from Part 1 out on this little one. I’d be so nervous putting little one in there! 🫣
That’s at least a happy ending after being sad reading Part 1!
I was so glad that at least something good came of everything! I read the original story on the day it came out and it was so heartbreaking. I thought it was a very informative story but it is the type of thing that I normally do not share here because it is just bad news. While neither owl will get to live out the life that was intended for them, at least they will both have a positive future now together. 🦉❤️🦉
You feature Raven Ridge frequently in your posts and seeing as you’re very knowledgeable, do you feel that they’re a responsible and trustworthy wildlife rehab center to donate to? Thank you!
I’ve given them money, though the bulk of my giving selfishly goes to the center I work at. 😁
I visited them last year at their spring open house, met their Snowy Owl, and got to hold their Australian boobook! It is going on again this weekend, so I’ll be paying them another visit.
They’re only 60-90 minutes away from me and the clinic I’m at, and while I don’t know if we ever do any collaboration with them like we do with Pocono Wildlife Center, we’re all doing the same job in our quarter of the state.
Other than that, they just run a really great social media campaign. Rehabbers work 24/7/365 so most places don’t have a huge online presence since that isn’t actual animal rehabbing. The place I’m with (Aark Wildlife) just got a social media person this year, and I hear the higher ups saying it’s doing a great job getting more engagement and donations, so it’s been a great help having her on board.
Animal rehab receives no public money anywhere in the world that I’m aware of, so we’re all funded 100% by people caring for their wildlife. That’s why I always tell folks here to 1) have patience with rehabbers (people get mad we can’t drop things to answer calls or return emails like a normal business) and 2) to donate to your local rehab first, since those are your animals and they need your help! If you’ve got any extra funds, then toss some money or wishlist items to someplace else that seems worthy.
Sorry for getting carried away with a long reply, I just get fairly impassioned about this topic. So short answer, yes, I think Raven Ridge is cool and are good people to donate to, but don’t forget about your local rehab either! It’s baby season and every rehab needs whatever help it can get.
Great picture, and don’t be sorry one bit, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for and I greatly appreciate it!
I’d wager nobody can fault you for donating to your own outfit, and at the end of the day it’s a win if animals in need are getting help! These really are services that should receive more (read: any) public funding, but… that’s a whole other conversation I suppose.
Sorry to keep asking questions - do you have any advice for vetting local centers for prospective donors? Are there any good ways to make sure the centers are being run in a responsible way, and that the wildlife in their care are being treated well and handled ethically?
There is a surprising amount of things we could discuss with funding as you say. There are a number of different types of folks that look down at what we do for various reasons, even putting politics aside. I don’t talk about it much here since I try to stay on the lighter side of topics and on the positives of our animal friends and their helpers and not people being rude. We got enough other communities handling that. 😁
Comparing rehabs can be a bit apples:oranges since we can very greatly in scope. We handle most any wild animal smaller than deer and bears, but no waterfowl right now due to bird flu. Other centers will do, say, only rabbits or only bats, are two localish ones to me I can think of.
The great thing is that it’s (often) pretty easy to find out who is legit. From what I can guess, you’re also in the US like I am, so I know a little about how the laws work here. Wild animals are basically wards of the state. This is why you or I can’t have wild animals as pets. Well, the legal reason. You wouldn’t want one even if it was legal, but again, that’s another story. Rehabilitation is really regulated by the state (and sometimes feds), so you can look up this stuff as it’s all public record.
Here’s a list hosted by Shavers Creek, a licensed animal ed facility associated with Penn State’s veterinary program, that used to be a rehab but isn’t anymore, hence why I’m assuming this particular list is a few years old. It lists every licensed rehabber in the state and what types of animals they have been licensed to work with. Your state should have this available, though each state’s fish/game/wildlife website will vary in quality and how frequently that’s updated, but search for “my_state licensed wildlife rehabilitators” and you should get a list fairly easily.
I did a 50 States of Owls my first year here, and this was one of the ways I found where people could take or visit owls in need. I will say, you may or may not be disappointed by how few resources some states have available. Some can have just one or two for the entire state.
But if they’re on the list, they’ve gone through tons of training and examinations governed by the state, and their facilities will be both visited and inspected regularly by the state game people. They bring us animals in need all the time and come to our events to run booths. If we don’t follow the rules, it’s super easy to take out animals and shut us down.
Give that a shot to find something you think works for you, and if you need further help, let me know. Just try to verify anyone you find on a list is still active. This is a very tough business to be in since it’s such an extreme commitment, and animals don’t pay for care. 😉 People can get into this and burnout or run out of cash quickly, and states aren’t always the fastest at updating info.
Facebook is generally the best place to get info on their activity, since it’s free, easy, and has wide reach. I know a lot of you here don’t use that, but I have to so I can find all these stories, so if you need me to look someone up, again, just ask!
How can þey tell when an owl is in nesting mode?
That’s in the comments of the Part 1 post, linked before the post body, if you missed it.
She was found with a brood patch, which develops to incubate eggs and keep the very young owlets warm. They have a patch of skin that loses feathers, gets increased vascular activity, and the skin slackens so it can get maximum contact on the eggs/hatchlings.
So momma owl’s original offspring have likely failed at this point, as it was impossible to find her nest with her trapped and injured. Getting united with this baby fills in the lost roles for both parties, so for the most part, they will both get to continue where their lives were interrupted. Baby needs a proper owl momma, and momma was primed to raise owlets.
