This little pygmy owl was carrying his prey, wasn’t watching where he was going, and slammed into my sliding glass door, knocking him out for quite a while. If this ever happens to you, give the poor animal a couple of hours to come out of it. If it’s not in harms way, just leave it be. If there are dogs or cats or other predators around, then put it in a box, keep it quiet and safe, and leave it alone for a couple of hours (do NOT keeping peeking in at it). Yes, it may very well take a solid 2 hours to come out of it. If, however, you see signs of injury such as blood, it needs to be taken immediately to your nearest rehab & rescue center. The same holds true if it’s still not able to fly after 2 hours. It may have suffered head trauma.
One final note, sometimes when we see an eagle or other bird of prey on the ground, we immediately think it’s injured. This is not always the case. It may have just eaten and is not able to take flight yet. Keep an eye on it for a couple of hours. If you’re able to approach it after a couple of hours of being on the ground, then it’s time to call your nearest rehab & rescue center and ask their advice. As always, if you need help finding your closest rescue center, contact me. I can help.
In response to The Daily Post’s Photo Challenge: Eye Spy.
As for the pygmy owl above, he was out cold and laying on his back, opened his eyes eventually, flipped over onto his feet, regained his senses, then took off after about 30 minutes. I had the extreme displeasure of cleaning up the headless prey that he left behind.
That’s cool! We had a poor prairie chicken that hit our window once. ..the dogs were faster than I 😣 Next time I’ll take a box with me ☺
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Awwwww, poor baby, but wow to the dogs for being Johnny On The Spot, lol! Ain’t nothing getting past them, hehe!
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I like how the weathered finish of the deck blends so well with his feathers 🙂
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They do match nicely, don’t they, 🙂
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Yes, I think the weathered deck is the way to go 😉
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It’s natural and rustic… very “in” these days, lol
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I bet that initial thud on the sliding glass was frightening! Especially if you were nearby doing something. These are great tips Paula, I am one that assumes a bird is injured if it is out. I’m curious as to what animal the owl had? Looks like he missed lunch
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Lol, it was another bird, about the size of him. He may have been weighted down too much with his kill, haha, greedy little thing, 😀
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Well, I guess he got a good lesson on being greedy, didn’t he? Hopefully he’ll stick to what he can actually handle. Good thing he didnt hurt himself worst than he did trying to play Hercules lol
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Lol!
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Wow!
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We get bird strikes on our sliding glass doors & our bay window on a somewhat regular basis.
I can tell you from my cat that birds are really good at playing possum, too! Which is how we have had birds flying around our house on more than one occasion.
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Oh, I can just imagine!! Lol
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This post really made me smile. Animals are very crafty little buggers!
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Lol, they are, aren’t they!! 🙂
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What a cute little guy! I didn’t know it would take so long! thanks for the info. very interesting!
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Your welcome! Yeah, it can take quite a long time, depending on how hard they hit! And this little guy looked just like one of those furbie toys! He was freaking adorable, probably all of 6 to 8 inches tall! 😀
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he does look like a furbie! Yes so totally adorable!!!
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Aww! Glad s/he was okay 🙂
But headless prey? Was it a mouse? Good thing you don’t have a cat that would have pounced on the owl faster than you could scoop it up!
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Lol, it was a bird of some type, almost the same size as him. I do have cats, so I was watching him intensely while he recovered to make sure our outdoor kitty didn’t snatch him up. 🙂
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Aw! But wow, who knew something so cute could be so deadly?!
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Lol, no kidding! 😀
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OH wow! Two solid hours? It’s great to know because it can easily get mistaken for dead (or seriously injured) if it stays still for that long.
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It’s true, they can be mistaken for seriously injured when all they are is stunned.
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Nice story, good advice and good ending…nice eye spy photo
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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Poor guy! I hope he was able to catch another meal later, and I’m glad he was all right! Great advice though, thank you for sharing it. 😀
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Yeah, I’m sure he was fine! 😉
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