Owl found in Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

ChaseJxyz

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For some positive news... [and article with some great pictures]

Was “adorable owl” on someone’s wish list this year?

If so, it seems Santa Claus may have delivered the gift a few weeks early — not wrapped with a bow, but tucked inside the iconic Christmas tree that crews tree that crews erected at Rockefeller Center this week.


Workers discovered the feathered creature clinging for its life on the 75-foot-tall Norway spruce over the weekend. Soon after, Ellen Kalish, director and founder of Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Saugerties, NY, got a call from a stranger asking whether they accept owls for rehab.


“I said absolutely,” Kalish told The Post — in fact, they “specialize in raptors,” including owls.

The bird was discovered as crews were “unwrapping” the tree, said Kalish, who drove about a half-hour to meet the wife of one of the men who transported the tree from upstate to Midtown. It wasn’t immediately clear whether or not the precious bird was injured.


One thing that didn’t add up: Owls are born in the spring, so Kalish knew it couldn’t be a baby owl, known as an owlet. When the rescuer saw “that adorable face,” she immediately knew it was no newborn but an adult northern saw-whet. The birds grow to only about 5 inches tall and weigh a mere 2 to 3 ounces, and are frequently mistaken for juvenile owls.


That fact doesn’t remove its cuteness, however.


“I thought it was such a heartwarming Christmas story, that there was this secret in the Christmas tree,” said Kalish, who first shared photos of the “bright”-eyed bird on Facebook in a post that scooped up nearly 2,500 shares by Wednesday morning.


Reps for Rockefeller Center declined to comment.


The bird had gone an estimated three days without food or water before Kalish began “feeding him all the mice he will eat.” She also pointed out that the cute creature’s true sex wouldn’t be revealed until a doctor made an assessment Wednesday afternoon.
 

mrsmig

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OMG - my favoritest owl ever.
 

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I love owls.

I couldn't have guessed, what with your darling avatar pict!

They are indeed remarkable birds.

And what a cute little guy/gal. Glad it seems to be okay after this unplanned journey. Love the picture where it's glaring up from the box.

Owl aside, though, I have to say this year's Christmas tree looks a bit, um, blighted. It's been a year of blights, so it does indeed seem appropriate.
 

MaeZe

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NPR report today (sorry no link): He's male, they know because he's small and an adult. Males are smaller than females. The question was asked, would they take him back to where the tree came from and the answer was no they plan to release "right here" which is near the rehab place he was taken to. These owls find new mates every year and travel great distances. Now I'm off to see what 'All About Birds' has to say. I love that site, especially because you can hear what the bird calls sound like. Thanks Roxxsmom. :D


This is why I love owls over other raptors: All About Birds
When the youngest nestling is about 18 days old, the female leaves the nest to roost elsewhere. The male continues bringing food, which the older nestlings may help feed to their younger siblings.
Not only do owlets not peck at their siblings fighting for food, the mother owl makes a point of feeding the smallest owlet. Eggs are laid and hatch about two days apart so the last one to hatch remains the smallest, even when they fledge around the same time.

Most (all other?) raptors and a few other birds like the Guillemot peck and even kill their siblings.

I am also fascinated that owls click their beaks when they feel threatened. It's an interesting sound. This one did the beak clacking at the rehab site.


A link from Chase's link above:

Ravensbeard Wildlife Center
Little Rockefeller is doing great! His X-Rays came back all clear. He will stay with us for a few more days while we monitor his health and get him back up to a proper weight. Then its just about waiting for some good weather for his release day! We will keep you all posted.
 
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ChaseJxyz

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Owls can get even smaller than that. The elf owl is....so smol. Baby. I didn't know a lot about owls since they're so hard to see (they don't really come to your bird feeder!) until I read the Ga'Hoole books. I haven't seen any owls since moving to California, but a friend did have some great horned owls who had a nest by his place in Lafayette, I was so jealous!

Remember the polar vortex(?) year where there was a bunch of snowy owls in NYC?
 

frimble3

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Maybe the reason they see fewer males is that most males have enough sense to flee when their tree starts to shake, while females are all "But this is the perfect nest site! I'm not leaving!"?
 

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Maybe the reason they see fewer males is that most males have enough sense to flee when their tree starts to shake, while females are all "But this is the perfect nest site! I'm not leaving!"?

I thought they'd determined this one was male, though.

Owls can get even smaller than that. The elf owl is....so smol. Baby. I didn't know a lot about owls since they're so hard to see (they don't really come to your bird feeder!) until I read the Ga'Hoole books. I haven't seen any owls since moving to California, but a friend did have some great horned owls who had a nest by his place in Lafayette, I was so jealous!

Remember the polar vortex(?) year where there was a bunch of snowy owls in NYC?

I've seen a number of barn owls here in CA, though it varies from year to year. Some summers I see them flying around at dusk and hear their cries late at night. Other years I don't see or hear any. We have great horned owls here in Sacramento too, though I've never seen one. Evidently, they can carry off a decent sized cat (or small dog). Another bird-related reason to keep your kitties inside.

I've seen burrowing owls too, which are incredibly cute and unusual birds. They used to have a colony on the UC Davis campus when I was a student there. It delayed the construction of a new football stadium, because they chose that particular empty field to nest in. Eventually, they "persuaded" the owls not to nest there, unfortunately.
 
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frimble3

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<font color="#333333">I thought they'd determined </font><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tiny-owl-rescued-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-travelled-170-miles-n1248166" target="_blank">this one was male</a><font color="#333333">, though.
There are always outliers, though. The owl that slept through the chopping. Or, figured things happening 50 feet down didn't really affect him. Some people, er, owls, just don't catch on quickly enough.
Then the tree sways, and the instinct is, I assume, to hang on. I assume that's what gets perching birds through wind-storms.
That's why there are 'fewer' males, not 'no other' males found.
 
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MaeZe

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They knew gender by size.

They may have planned to confirm it before banding.

The reason they trapped more females than males was because they used a male mating call to lure the owls in.
 

frimble3

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Ah, they were baiting for them! I was kind of wondering how common 'owls trapped in trees' was! (We get a lot of Snowy Owls up here, we're on some sort of flyway - too big not to be noticed in a tree.)