{"id":83611,"date":"2025-08-15T01:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/83611\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T01:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:53:10","slug":"no-one-knew-why-this-owl-wouldnt-fly-until-they-looked-into-his-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/83611\/","title":{"rendered":"No One Knew Why This Owl Wouldn’t Fly \u2014 Until They Looked Into His Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, New England Wildlife Center (NEWC)<\/a> received a call for help that immediately raised concerns. The caller reported finding a small owl on the side of a busy road in Harwich, Massachusetts, who refused to move, despite all the cars zooming past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not typical owl behavior, so we sent our rescue team to investigate,\u201d NEWC wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cThey found him grounded and too disoriented to move from his spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/New England Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

As the team neared the young Eastern screech owl, they began to theorize how he had landed in such a perilous situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on his age and location, we believe he had just recently left the nest and was likely hit by a car while learning to fly,\u201d NEWC wrote. \u201cThis may have been his first solo flight!\u201d<\/p>\n

The little owl, though alive, was clearly in a vulnerable state. When the NEWC team arrived, the poor owl was squinting, and one pupil was much bigger than the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s called anisocoria, and we see it often in head trauma cases,\u201d NEWC wrote. \u201cIt can happen when the brain swells or when there\u2019s pressure on the nerves that control the eyes, resulting from trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/New England Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

Healthy owls are known for their ability to expand or contract their pupils independently to control light exposure, but this case was alarmingly different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like adjusting the aperture on a camera,\u201d NEWC wrote. \u201cThis [adaptation] helps them hunt in dark conditions and gives them excellent depth perception. It is not abnormal to see one pupil larger than the other while they are adjusting to new lighting, but the severity of this case let us know that something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NEWC team carefully scooped the owl up and transported him to their headquarters, where he received a thorough checkup, including an eye exam. The results sent a wave of relief throughout the animal hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, we did not find any broken bones or lasting damage to the eyes,\u201d NEWC wrote. \u201cHe was prescribed fluids, anti-inflammatory meds and cage rest while the swelling in his head resolves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/New England Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

The little owl received round-the-clock care and rest until one day, a week after his rescue, he suddenly perked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis morning, we were very excited to see that he was bright, alert and had eaten \u2026\u201d NEWC wrote. \u201cWe flight tested him, and he passed with flying colors! He let us know he was ready to return to the wild and give flying another go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before long, the NEWC crew returned to Harwich with the little owl in tow and happily watched as he soared out of his cage, as he\u2019d initially intended on his first flight. The owl and his rescuers couldn\u2019t have been more pleased.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very happy to report his second flight went WAY better than the first, and he took off into the woodlands!\u201d NEWC wrote.<\/p>\n

To help animals like this owl get the care they need, you can donate to New England Wildlife Center here<\/a>.\"Scientist<\/a>Scientist Sifting Through Leaf Pile Finds A Creature With Expert Camouflage\u201cThis thing is absolutely incredible.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A few weeks ago, New England Wildlife Center (NEWC) received a call for help that immediately raised concerns.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3192,3754,7223,616,40051,79,615,613,201,620],"class_list":{"0":"post-83611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-animal-encounters","9":"tag-ashley-ortiz","10":"tag-birds","11":"tag-daily-dodo","12":"tag-owls","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-standard","15":"tag-the-dodo","16":"tag-wildlife","17":"tag-wildlife-rescue"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}