Friday, April 8, 2011

Ken Lockwood has been rescuing owls for more than ten years. He said last week's strong winds caused these baby owls to fall. Now, he's trying to raise them and release them to the wild when they're adults.

"I work with these birds and when you take one in, you help it, you heal it, and then you let it go," said Lockwood, Eagle Valley Raptor Center's program director. "When you see them big wings open, it's a pretty satisfying feeling."

Lockwood feeds these half pound baby owls about 16 mice a day. That's about six more than an adult owl.

"We're just trying to give them lots of food to get them good and healthy because they actually eat more than adults at this little stage in their life," said Lockwood. "They're growing and they're burning so many calories."

These Great Horned Owls were brought to the Eagle Valley Raptor Center after falling out of a tree last week. This is something common that happens during these months in Kansas.

"My mouse bill is pretty high during the months of April, May, and June," said Lockwood.

If you find any owls that have fallen from a tree, Lockwood says the best thing to do is to help the little ones get back into their nests or call the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.