Owal Rescue

Friday July 13, 2012, was both lucky and unlucky for a young Great Horned Owl. The very bad luck was being hit by a car sometime in the night. Better luck was sitting in the road about 9:30am when a group of cyclists from Tallahassee came along.

The immobile, but erect, clump of feathers was in the middle of the oncoming (westbound) lane of the Climax-Whigham road (aka GA Bike Route 10). Riding about 4th wheel in a steady paceline heading east, I saw and immediately recognized him as an owl. One of my buddies, Ron Ray, followed me as I made a careful exit from the paceline and U-turned back to the bird. He (the bird, not Ron) looked awful: Wet and rumpled feathers, covered with sandy muddy road spray, and a dazed stare. Ron exclaimed at how old the bird looked. He really was pathetic, looking like a wet chicken in mid-molt.

About the same time a pickup came along. I'm sorry I don't have the drivers name, he did good. I asked if he could take the owl to a vet, and he agreed. I asked if he had a towel in the truck - he only had his T shirt to offer. That, I knew, would not be enough. I shed my long-sleeve day-glow yellow polyester jersey. I got the owl to look at the big patch of color and dropped it over him, wrapping him up in it. Then we tied the T shirt around as a kind of makeshift cradle. The driver then drove the bird away, holding the cradle with one hand. The talons grasping the cloth were, ahem, impressive. Yikes. You'd lose a hand if that got on your wrist.

Ron and I road into Whigham, where we determined that the vet destination was all the way down US 84 to Cairo. So we road on back to the start of our ride and our vehicles in Calvary. The rest of our erstwhile paceline was there loading up to go back to real life. I drove back north to Cairo and the vet - to check on the bird and, if convenient, retrieve my jersey. (Note: Thank the stars I was wearing bib shorts so that riding without the jersey didn't gross people out too much. I did pick up some sun in places unused to it.) I got to the vet in Cairo. The folks there were very nice. They didn't have a clue about wildlife, though. I asked if they had my jersey, and found that the bird was still wrapped up in it. They extracted both shirts, and I asked them to hold the T for the pickup guy. They told me that the "wildlife rescue" lady was already on the way to get the owl, so I left feeling that I had helped him as much as I could.

Sidebar. Animals are hurt by our technology: roads, vehicles, powerlines, towers, fences, dams, boats. Vehicles, in particular, are far and away the top predator in North America. 


That night I called the wildlife rescue lady, one Lorraine Conklin. She told me the owl had never been delivered ... huh? A big misunderstanding, apparently the Cairo vet was expected to take the bird to a wildlife savvy vet in Thomsaville, but they had understood the opposite. Bad news for the owl, who was destined to spend the night without treatment or water in the cage in Cairo. I could hardly sleep.

I was at the Cairo vet when they opened this morning. I brought my welding gloves (BBQ cook's equipment), a heavy towel, and a box. I tried to sound officious stating I was there to pick up the owl. They were all relieved, and my equipment made me look like I knew what I was doing, so they brought me back to the cage. On the door was a paper sign stating: "Owal". (Well, hey, it IS a 2-syllable word in south GA, right?) Someone had supplied a plastic file crate for him, and he was perched on top of it, a good sign. His feathers were dry and fluffed. He looked every inch the "top gun" that he should be. I donned the welding/BBQ gloves, reached in "as if", grasped him and got him into the crate and closed the bifold lid. Away we went to Thomasville.

The rest of the day went great. The Thomasville vet:

Clanton-Malphus-Hodges Veterinary Hospital
2134 East Pinetree Blvd
Thomasville, GA 31792
229-226-1914

had been expecting the owl since yesterday, and they immediately took charge. I heard again from Ms Conklin, who had by then picked him up and brought him to her Nepenthic Society refuge for sick and injured wildlife in Thomasville. She confirmed that the owl was an immature (not fully grown, but old enough to be on his own) male Great Horned Owl. He seems to have had a concussion, and his eyes are not yet working well enough to hunt, but there were no broken wings or legs. Right now his prognosis is good for re-release in several days.

The Nepanthic Society
167 Home Park Farm Rd
Thomasville, GA 31757
229-228-9298


Ms Conklin is French. Today is July 14. I wished her happy Bastille Day.

PS The vet in Cairo was really nice. I know I made a little fun at their expense, but they had good in their hearts, and I feel sure they are a wonderful and caring place to take Fido and Kitty. Just not the coyotes, bobcats, and owals.