Mystery Rescue

Mystery Rescue

The Healing Power of a Baby Owl

At the wildlife animal hospital, Roberta leaned forward to get a closer look at the baby barn owl sitting on the exam table. She looked into its dark round eyes about the size of peas, set deep within a heart shaped face. White, fluffy down covered the small bird from head to talon. Its beak was long and pointy. In awe, Roberta moved in closer, her white hair nearly touching the owl’s white feathery tuft. Nose to beak, the human and bird stared at each other. Roberta blinked, the owl blinked.

The little bird jutted forward and flapped its delicate wings, sending white puffs of down everywhere, like a dandelion in the wind. Roberta caught some feather puff in her eyes and mouth. “Ptth.” She spit the feathers from her lips and laughed. She hadn’t been this amused and engaged in quite a long while.

Next to Roberta, stood Dr. Becky Norman, a red headed woman wearing a colorful lab coat with prints of tropical animals. She smiled and brushed the down dust off the table with her hand.

“That’s normal. It’s shedding its wings. It’s about six or seven weeks old,” the wildlife veterinarian said. “We can’t tell yet if it’s a boy or a girl. Too young. You won’t really know until its adult feather colors show.”

Roberta was 78, a widow, still grieving the loss of her husband Jerry the year before.

"Jerry would be thrilled if he was here to see this," she said. "He was fascinated by owls. He would watch them endlessly at the bird sanctuary."

She gently touched the feathery side of the bird with her index finger.

"Today would've been our 52nd wedding anniversary. I still can't believe he's gone," she said.

Dr. Norman picked up the owl and placed it in Roberta's hands. "He's with you right now, watching over you."

Roberta cradled the owl. “I’m in love,” she said. “This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s just a little powder puff.”

“It’s a miracle it’s alive,” Dr. Norman said. “Owlets usually don’t survive if they fall from their nest. The parents won’t save it. They’ll ignore it. That’s nature. But we were able to identify where it’s from by the bands on its leg.”

Roberta sat down on a chair and placed the owl on her lap. She softly stroked its feathers. She touched a tiny metal band on its leg.

“It’s miles from its home," Dr. Norman said. "It lives at the university in a nesting box. They’re building nesting boxes all around the area to help the barn owl population and attract barn owls to kill off rodents and help farmers. We don’t have any idea how it got to the riverside. It really is a miracle, and even a bigger mystery."

She kneeled down in front of Roberta and and spoke directly to the owl. "You’re our little mystery bird. We should call you Mystery."

The owl jerked and hissed, startling Roberta. Dr. Norman took the owl and placed it back on the table. It stood motionless for several seconds. It opened its beak and turned its head slowly.

“Is it okay?” Roberta looked at Dr. Norman.

The owl’s beak was wide open. Roberta thought it was choking or in some type of distress. It nodded its head.

“I think something’s wrong with it. Is it breathing?” Roberta asked.

The owl looked down, beak open. A black object bigger than a walnut poked out of its mouth.

“What is that?” Roberta said. She scowled as the black object slowly slipped out of the bird’s mouth and onto the table.

“That’s just a pellet,” Dr. Norman said. “Owls can’t digest bones and fur, so they regurgitate them as pellets. Mystery is fine. This is a good sign actually. It means she’s eaten. She seems to be healthy.”

Dr. Norman picked up the pellet.

“Look at this. Mystery gave you a little present. You can figure out what an owl ate by looking at what’s in the pellet.”

Dr. Norman closely examined the pellet and showed it to Roberta. She pointed to a furry part of the exterior.

“See here. Fur. Let’s check what’s inside and find out what Mystery had for dinner last night.”

Roberta was disgusted and intrigued at the same time. “I can’t believe that thing just came out of its mouth,” she said.

Dr. Norman laid a paper towel on the table and gently pulled the pellet apart. “The fur and this tooth tell me that Mystery ate a mouse, or parts of a mouse.”

The owl hissed again. "Sh sh sh."

“They hiss at this age,” Dr. Newman said. “I think Mystery wants to go home. Are you ready?” she asked Roberta.

“I’m ready. You know Jerry would love this,” Roberta said.

“I know he would, Roberta. We all miss Jerry,” Dr. Norman said. “He always made me laugh. He had the best sense of humor.”

“Do you know we transported 462 animals?" Roberta asked. "It’s hard to imagine. Volunteering for the wildlife rescue is the best thing we ever did. We’ve seen so many animals. Pelicans. Herons. Egrets. Turtles. Rabbits. So many birds. The last animal we transported together was a flying squirrel. That squirrel had such tiny wings, like bats.”

“I remember that squirrel,” Dr. Norman said. She picked up Mystery and gently placed it in an animal carrying case.

“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all that you and Jerry did for all these animals. I know you haven’t wanted to volunteer since Jerry got sick, but I knew you had to meet Mystery here.”

“I’m so glad you called. This little owl is making my day,” Roberta said.

“Bye bye Mystery. I enjoyed meeting you,” Dr. Norman said. She peeked inside the case and shut the door.

Dr. Norman carried the case and walked with Roberta to the parking lot. It was a typical south Florida afternoon, hot and bright, with rain clouds forming. Palm trees surrounded the building and a couple of herons walked on the grass. Dragonflies buzzed around the ladies.

“Barn owls mate for life. This little one will be back with its parents soon. It’s one of three babies that survived,” Dr. Newman said.

She placed the case on the back seat of Roberta’s car.

“You two have a safe trip. I hope to see you again, Roberta.”

“Thank you, Dr. Newman. This was the best anniversary present.”

They hugged.

As Roberta drove to the university with the owl, she thought about the many trips she’d made with Jerry, transporting injured wild animals to the hospital. How they’d look at the animal in the crate and marvel at its unique creation, and hold hands in the car and talk about it during their drive.

In Florida, there were many small wild animals that needed rescuing, but this time, she thought, she was the injured one, rescued by a baby barn owl.