Big Bird and The Owl Foundation

Today was a really special day.  Janice and I headed out to The Owl Foundation in the company of two owls - an Eastern Screech Owl (who had quite the cranky reputation at Toronto Wildlife Centre!) and a Northern Saw Whet (who was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen).

The Saw Whet kept our drive interesting by letting us know just what he thought about the car ride.  I haven't been able to find the exact call online but it was similar to this http://talkaboutwildlife.ca/sounds/asprwf/bj_northern_saw-whet_owl_01.wav
Fortunately both owls are excellent rehab candidates and should be releasable.

The highlight of the trip, in addition to Janice's wonderful company and mediocre navigation skills (sorry Janice, I had to do it) was having a great owl discussion with Kay McKeever and Big Bird, the ambassador of TOF.   Big Bird is an unreleasable Great Grey Owl who beat the odds and survived an awful car accident.  He is now Kay's loyal companion for life.

I've met Big Bird several times but I've never had him sit on my lap...until today!  Kay placed him on a perch and handed him to me and it was such a thrill.  He likes scratches around his throat and it is amazing how many inches of feathers you go through before you get to skin!  Janice then had her turn with Big Bird and I know she was as thrilled as I was.

Through my volunteering at Toronto Wildlife Centre I've gotten to know some of the people at TOF and have had the privilege of releasing a few owls for them.

I like to take a photo of the releases to send to TOF but I rarely am able to capture the moment because the owl is gone in the blink of an eye.  Fortunately I've been lucky a couple of times.

This beautiful Great Horned Owl was released back to his home in a wooded area in Toronto in May of 2009.

And this Red-Morph Eastern Screech Owl was released in north Durham Region in September 2010.

What amazing birds!  To learn more about The Owl Foundation, visit http://www.theowlfoundation.ca/.