Another year, another owl rescue in Geneva
An apparently adventurous baby owl was back in the care of its mother Monday, two days after being rescued from a window well at the Third Street courthouse in Geneva.
Animal control officials initially worried the little one might be abandoned after leaving its nest prematurely, but "Mom is definitely still taking care of it," warden Lauren Bluestone said.
Bluestone was among rescue workers sent to recover the distressed animal on Saturday afternoon after several bird watchers and passers-by found it in the 7-foot-deep window well.
The approximately 5-week-old great horned owl had somehow stepped out of a tree nest up against the north side of the building. A representative from the National Audubon Society reported the situation to Kane County and Geneva police.
"We took a fishing net and were able to scoop it up," Bluestone said. "We did not want to stress it out, so we tried not to handle it much."
The owl -- too young for its gender to be identified -- was wrapped in a towel and put in a carrier covered with a blanket. It was then taken to the courthouse roof, away from ground-dwelling predators.
"We have the maintenance department up there periodically, making sure it's alive and kicking and (that) Mom is bringing it food," Bluestone said Monday.
Spills such as Saturday's have become something of a regular occurrence at the courthouse, which attracts owls -- and wildlife buffs -- each year, she said.
Last spring, a baby great horned owl later named Justice tumbled from a nest and into a window well, resulting in a broken humerus bone in its right wing. That owl now lives at Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, a nonprofit facility in Barrington.
Dawn Keller, the organization's director, said Monday that while Justice is doing "really, really well," he lost about a centimeter of wing length when the bone was repaired and can't fly well enough to be released.
"He's flying only short distances; he's not compensating quite correctly," she said, adding that he is joining a group of other nonreleasable birds used in educational programs. "He's going to be a fine educator."