Scott Artis, who heard the call of burrowing owls in Antioch, helped us with the website upgrade, and now is coordinating displays for the Earth Day event at the John Muir National Historic Site, posted this lovely adventure two days ago and I thought you’d want to see.
I received an email from Lindsay Wildlife Museum alerting me that a burrowing owl was reportedly trapped in a store of a nearby outdoor mall. Unfortunately, the commotion caused the owl to retreat to a secluded spot in the rafters, 18 feet off the ground.
15 minutes later I was walking through the open doors of Mainland Skate and Surf (Streets of Brentwood). And not only was the ceiling 18 feet high, but a burrowing owl was perched on the ventilation ductwork at the furthest possible point from the enticing open doors. After a period of 5 minutes discussing options with staff management, we were able to coax the little owl to fly…which for both our sakes resulted in a landing between some hanging backpacks. As I sprinted across the store I could see him jostling with the canvas until he came to rest on the ground. Without hesitation I grabbed a folded shirt from a perfectly aligned stack and covered the nervous owl.
Go read the entire story at Scott’s site and say hi from the Martinez Beavers. It is pretty wonderful when the major players start to know your name and send distress calls your way. He has done a mountain of work, and the owls are lucky to have him.
