For those of you who know me, you know I'm not an early riser. So when the phone rang at 7:30, I let the recorder pick up. I heard the phrase we're all too familiar with, "I got your name from Project Wildlife," when I rolled out of bed to intercept the call. It was a woman from Jacumba and she had found a baby owl that had fallen from its nest. So much for sleeping in this morning.

She had the owl in a box and was heading to work at the Jacumba post office. I filled her in on all the do's and don'ts--such as keep it warm, dark and quiet--and made arrangements to meet her.

If you've ever lived in a small town you know the postal workers know everybody, their kids and dogs, by name. By the time I got there our owl was quite the celebrity. I think everybody in town had heard about his mishap.

After a quick peek to make sure the owl was okay, I got the information about when and where the bird had been found. It turned out this was a Great Horned Owl, my personal favorite of all the raptors I deal with. He had fallen from his nest under a bridge. Since raptors prefer to nest in high places, I didn't have much hope of returning it to its nest, but I decided to look just in case.

After locating the bridge I hiked down the steep slope to
see if I could spot the nest. Sure enough there it was. Just my
luck, I forgot the binoculars in the car. Back up the slope to
the car. Then, huffing and puffing I went back down the
slope, binoculars in hand. I'm not in the best of shape and I
can live just fine without hiking.

Once positioned I could barely see its fuzzy little nest-mate through the binoculars. This was a good sign. Parents won't abandon a nest as long as there's a hungry little mouth to feed. Now I had time to find help and set-off for the fire station. I was met by Ken McCollum, the only paid staff member of the Jacumba fire station.

I told him how we always try to get the babies back in the nest, because it's better if the parents raise them, but I couldn't do it on my own.

He was willing to take a look; so back to the bridge we went. Once there, he said "There's no way we are going to get a boom truck in here. But we may be able to walk a ladder in."

I wanted to take the owl home to hydrate and give it a proper physical before reuniting him with his sibling. What's another 50 miles when it comes to saving a Great Horned Owl? Now Ken had time to round up some volunteers to help.

Yes! Everything checked out A-okay at home. But when we returned, Ken said he couldn't find anyone in Jacumba to help. Everyone was working. However he was able to enlist the help of Chief Jim Keleman of Boulevard Fire and Rescue.

Chief Jim rolled up right on time and we left for the bridge, again! After lots of deliberation, we thought maybe the ladder would reach. Back up the slope to get the ladder. Going up and down this hill was getting a little old by now. Did I mention I don't like hiking?

Of course, the ladder was about 4 feet short. Now what? We decided that if Jim could stretch the last 4 feet and give the owl a little toss, he should be able to walk back into the nest. With the ladder tied off at the top and Ken holding the bottom securely in place, Jim headed up the ladder, bird in hand.

I had to giggle to myself, because here was this big, tough fireman worried about holding this little bird. It's not something most people do every day.

Once at the top of the ladder Jim stretched as far as he could. After one little oomph, the owl ran to join his nest-mate and snuggled back in the nest safe and sound. I love a happy ending.

On behalf of myself and all of Project Wildlife I'd like to thank Ken McCollum of San Diego Rural Fire Station#88 in Jacumba and Chief Jim Keleman of Boulevard Fire and Rescue for their joint effort in rescuing our little Great Horned owl. We couldn't have done it without you!

Juvenile Great
Horned Owl

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Thanks for your help!

Back to Nature newsletter is published quarterly by:
Project Wildlife
4343 Morena Blvd., #7
San Diego, CA 92117

Project Wildlife is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of San Diego County Wildlife. Project Wildlife is also dedicated to the education of San Diego County residents on local wildlife and how to coexist with local mammals and birds.

To get in touch with Project Wildlife, see our contact page

Ways to Give:
Endowment Program
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Protectors of Wildlife

Programs:
Education Department and Programs