Two birds of prey have a new lease on life after being released back into the wild recently near Alfred.
The release of the owl and hawk was possible as a result of a collaboration between rescue organizations and wildlife rehabilitation centres as well as Canadian Wings of Rescue (CWoR), a volunteer-run registered charity whose volunteer pilots fly abused, abandoned, and injured animals to adopters, fosters and rehabilitation centres.
Since its inception 11 years ago, CWoR has flown more than 1,200 animals and birds and has close to 100 volunteer pilots spread out across the country.
A red-tailed hawk and a great horned owl spent the past couple of months at The Owl Foundation in Vineland Station, near St. Catharines, Ontario, where they were rehabilitated over the summer.
Rescuers found the owl and the hawk, both fledglings, abandoned in Ottawa without their parents in July, 2023. Birds that young cannot survive without their parents.
The birds were taken to Safe Wings Ottawa for assessment while volunteers searched for their parents and their nests in the hope, they could be re-nested. Neither was found.
Since re-nesting was not an option, Gerd Wengler, a volunteer pilot with CWoR flew the hawk from Ottawa to Burlington and then drove him to his temporary home at The Owl Foundation for rehabilitation. At around the same time, the great horned owl also made its way there.
After staying with The Owl Foundation long enough for the birds to improve their flying and hunting skills, volunteers determined that they were ready to be released back into the wild.
Some weeks ago, Wengler flew both birds, safely tucked inside special containers, from Burlington back to Ottawa. They were released just outside of Ottawa the same day.
“All the animals we fly would probably otherwise not make it, they would be dead, so it feels really good (to help them),” said Wengler.
The birds came back to the Ottawa area so they could live on familiar ground where they had come from and it was assumed to be a good hunting area since that’s where their parents lived.
“For me, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to take in an injured bird that would have most certainly died without intervention and to care for it,” said Christina Huppe, Authorized Rehabber for Safe Wings Ottawa.
Canadian Wings of Rescue submitted photos
