The Great NRPA Owl Rescue — Episode 019

Last Monday evening, a group of Boy Scouts were on the trail
behind NRPA's headquarters when they came upon a baby Barred Owl
who had appeared to have fallen from its nest more than 40-feet
up in the trees. They contacted Ted Mattingly, NRPA’s resident
hero and Director of Facilities and Administrative Services, who
realized that the baby owl’s chances of surviving on its own
after falling from the nest were slim. He decided to take matters
into his own hands and brought the baby owl inside while he
called Rich Dolesh, NRPA's Vice President of Strategic
Initiatives and wildlife expert, to get some advice on how to
best handle the situation. The decision was made to take the owl
back outside in hopes that the mother wouldn't abandon it. 


After some back-and-forth, and consultation with a few other
wildlife experts, Ted went back later that night and found that
the mother had left a frog at the baby's talons. He decided to
let nature take its course and see what happened overnight.


When Ted returned early the next morning, he found the baby owl
in the same place, but this time there was a dead mouse at its
talons — proof that the mother had been watching over her
owlet throughout the night. Ted was advised to cut up the frog
from the night before and feed it to the baby owl, and did so
with no hesitation.


With the baby owl in seemingly good health, Ted quickly began
trying to find anyone with the necessary equipment to return the
baby owl to its nest. He finally got in touch with one of his
contacts at Loudoun County Parks, Recreation and Community
Services who had a 40-foot ladder and could come out to
help. 


Eventually, the baby owl — who will from now on be known as
"Lil Ted" — was returned to its nest, to be with its
brothers and sisters. As far as we can tell, all is well, and
Mama and Papa Owl have been spotted in the area watching over
their owlets in the days since the incident.