“It was like something from a Stephen King movie” 😳
When Tracie Young, a rehabilitator at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, first heard the cacophony emanating from a mysterious box delivered by Pennsylvania Fish and Boat officers, she could hardly believe her ears.
“It was deafening,” Young recalled. “If I’d heard that in the woods, I’d have run for the hills. It sounded like something straight out of a Stephen King novel.”
Opening the box with caution, Young discovered the source of the uproar—two nervous barn owl fledglings. The owls had been found by a local farmer nesting in one of his silos. Although they were just days away from leaving the nest, they needed to be relocated. Local game officers had safely secured the birds and brought them to the wildlife center for care.
At the center, wildlife volunteers examined and banded the owls before feeding them. Despite the noisy protests of the spirited birds, the handlers were thrilled to engage with them.
“It was incredible to handle them and see their feisty personalities up close,” Young said. “It was a fantastic experience for both myself and the volunteers.”
Interestingly, this pair of barn owls marked only the second time the center has cared for these birds. Remarkably, the first pair had arrived just a few weeks earlier. The two pairs were reunited, and together, they’re gradually learning the skills they need to thrive in the wild.
Soon, these resilient owls will be back in the sky, their haunting calls echoing through the darkness as they return to their natural habitat.