By Eric B. Anderson

Driving up the slight incline on Rt. 44 near Bazzano’s Oil on October 30, I saw a good-sized bird rapidly descending in front of me.

I applied the brakes as hard as I could, but unfortunately, the bird still bumped into the top of my cab and fell backwards onto the road. I turned around at Bazzano’s and saw a lovely barred owl in the road. The owl was on his back in a very precarious spot on Rt. 44, but fortunately he had not been crushed by the two cars that came by after me. In order to get him to safety since I did not have gloves, I took off my coat and placed it over him so I could pick him up. I quickly moved him to the roadside, and he started to come around and attempted to fly away, but it appeared that only one wing was working properly.

I managed to get my coat back around the owl and then placed him into my vehicle. I was a short distance from home, and while I was driving with my left hand, I held the owl as tightly as I dared under my right arm. He slipped out from under my coat and flew over to the passenger window. I quickly pulled over and raised my coat over the window to get him back under my arm. Once home I used my cell phone to call my father (Rev. Bruce Anderson) and waited inside my vehicle for him to retrieve a cat carrier. When he opened the carrier, I was finally able to let go and placed the owl in the cage and covered it with a cloth.
I called the Sharon Audubon Center just after 6 p.m. and was pleased that its director, Scott Heth answered and told me to bring the owl right over. Sharon Audubon was my preferred choice given their raptor rescue program. Since the owl could have had multiple injuries, I thought it was imperative to bring him to a professional for evaluation, rather than let him escape after he started to come around. At the center, Scott placed the owl in a holding cage and waited for him to calm down before evaluating his condition. The owl, estimated to be a young male, was sitting up; his head and eyes looked fine, but his talons were scratched and bloodied. I mentioned to Scott that if the owl could be eventually released, I really wanted to bring him back to Norfolk, since owls are territorial.
I called the next day to see how he was doing. He had been given fluids and demonstrated an appetite for a frozen mouse. Since he was in decent shape with no broken bones, he was cleared for release. On the evening of Nov. 1, I met Erin O’Connell, the center’s rehabilitator, and took her to a dirt road within the bird’s home range. She brought him out of his carrier, and after a few pictures, released her grip on his talons and he flew effortlessly up into a big tree. He looked down briefly at us before majestically departing into the fading light.

The outcome is far better than I could have hoped for, as this lucky owl is back in the Norfolk woods less than 48 hours after striking my vehicle. Hopefully, he is much wiser about not diving across a busy road like Rt. 44 looking for food at twilight. My special thanks go to the caring people at Sharon Audubon who made this possible. On average they receive 4 birds every week and care for more than 200 injured birds a year. I encourage folks to go see the center, and visit their 15 resident raptors.

Photo, top, by Eric B. Anderson: Erin O’Connell, an animal rehabilitator at the Sharon Audubon Center, releasing the barred owl rescued by Eric Anderson.