I have been an avid bird watcher all of my adult life. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to drive up to Cedar Mountain east of Cedar City to watch the release of 3 barn owls that had been brought to the Enoch Wildlife Rescue 4 months ago. These owls were taken from their nest illegally as hatchlings, and retrieved by officials somewhere in Nevada. The wildlife rescue, which is north of Cedar City, was the closest facility where they could be brought. After 4 months of expert care and feeding, they were ready to go.
The release location was at about 8200’ elevation. Here you can see Cedar City down below at 6000’. What a lovely spot!
The owls were taken out of their carriers and released one by one. I have seen other owls handled by experts under similar circumstances with little to no fuss. These barn owls were quite different. There was a lot of hissing, growling and struggling involved just to get them out of their carriers and ready for release. Here are some photos.
This last one is of a young lady military veteran who had the honor of releasing the lone female of the three.
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