Valley Park, MO (KMOX) - The adults are nesting at World Bird Sanctuary, and many could once again become foster parents to owlets and eaglets that fall out of St. Louis area nests.
"Baby season starts with the arrival of owls," explains Roger Holloway, Executive Director of the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri, "Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls are two of the larger species that live close by here." Holloway says the sanctuary has already been called in to help Great Horned owlets.
He says they get calls from people who encounter them on the ground or low in a tree. "Especially with owls and hawks that live in our area, we try to re-nest them. Through our rehab department and the volunteers that are there, we make nests ahead of time." Holloway says they will survey the situation and if it appears the parents are active and taking care of a nest, they will put the man-made nest nearby, and put the baby back in it. "If there's a baby nearby, they'll respond to it. The parents take over just like they should."
If it doesn't appear the parents are around or will care for the young bird, they will bring it into the sanctuary. Residents often foster orphans. Last summer, long-time sanctuary resident, bald eagle Murphy fostered an eaglet until it was released into the wild. He's featured in the current issue of National Geographic Kids for nesting with a rock.
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Holloway says they have to be careful not to imprint on any young brought into the sanctuary, "when they're young they don't see well but they can hear, especially with owls... so we reduce the sounds and sights of human activity. If a newly hatched one has to be hand fed for a few days, we'll do it by wearing a ghost -- a camouflaged cloth that takes away the human form, takes away human sound."
The World Bird Sanctuary has a "baby registry" on Amazon for supplies to help raise fosters.
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