Owls are not seen too much in the middle of the day, but when this neighborhood spots a hurt owl in the middle of their very own street in Branford, CT, they take action. They actually considered this particular owl to be a member of the neighborhood as they had seen him a lot in the area and grown attached to him over the past several years.
What a lucky owl this was! That particular day in December, it just so happened that, Laura Burban, director of Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter, was in the neighborhood. And she was more than excited at the chance to help.
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She said, "I've always wanted to see one of these majestic beauties up close and know I was helping one." This was her first owl rescue.
Help For A Hurt Owl
When Laura got to the street, the barred owl would spread his wings and try to fly away. But the hurt owl couldn't actually take off. Laura suspected a bruised wing that could've been caused by a car. She grabbed a towel to cover his head to reduce stress on the owl.
This proved to be tough because, as we all know, owls can turn their heads almost all the way around! He kept looking her in the eye every time she would try to sneak up on him. Other people from the neighborhood who were already gathered around tried distracting the bird. But the task still proved difficult.
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Eventually, Laura succeeded in gently wrapping the hurt owl in the towel. She then put him into a van headed to A Place Called Hope, a bird rehab center. There, the team discovered that the poor bird had a fractured wrist.
While the owl was recovering, the town's First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove, grandson of the namesake of the shelter where Laura works, kept calling in to check on the bird. He said, "Everybody knows him. He's sort of like a famous owl over there, like the mayor of the neighborhood." In the conversation, he lovingly refers to the owl as "his bird."
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After a few weeks, the barred owl was healed and ready to be released. Jamie was the one who opened the kennel to set the owl free. Fittingly, the beautiful creature was released on Crosgrove's property near a pond. The neighbors are hoping he will stick around for years to come.
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h/t: Reshareworthy
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter