Did someone say mouse?

Age: 26 days old
Mass: 139 grams

George's weight gain has finally started to slow down! Down from six feedings a day to three feedings, George is eating about 1.5 mouse (mice?) a day. While George doesn't answer to his name, he comes running when his food bin comes out.

Godzilla Owl

"Stomp stomp stomp, bite bite bite, stomp stomp stomp"

I've discovered why so many of my house plants are missing leaves and looking flatter than usual.....

Yes, Shorty, I'm looking at you.


On a unrelated note, Shorty has grown into such a beautiful owl!

Owlmosis

Age: 25 days old
Mass: 137 grams

I don't know if owls can dream, but I've learned that they can fart, hiccup, and sneeze.

Extreme Close Up!


I don't know about other birds, but owls are talented sleepers. They can sleep standing on two legs and balanced on one leg. Sometimes they even sit on their "bum" and rest on their ankles, like George here.

Puh-leeeeeease?

Age: 24 days old
Mass: 135 grams

My dog thinks I should trade in this new puppy with something more lively. Something that will play with tennis balls and squeaky toys... instead of ignoring her and all her gifts.

Actually, George is getting very active and often flaps around while running. Soon enough, he'll begin to fly. And he'll be able to ignore my dog from greater heights.

Georgie's a big boy now

Age: 23 days old
Mass: 134 grams

George is a big boy now and doesn't need no stink'in incubator. Just a heating pad is fine.

This little bundle of fluff is certainly a lot more self sufficient compared to the start of this blog. While George has perfected the art of begging for food, he can at least stay warm by himself, run around, and is even starting to tear food apart.

Adopt An Owl

George's parents, like most of our other burrowing owls, are a mixed bunch.

This is Sherman, one of my faves, because he's a feisty little owl that doesn't let a droopy wing get in his way. Sherman was brought in after being hit by a truck, and then flying into a barbed wire fence... it was a twofer. Named after the fellow behind the wheel, Sherman was taken to the vet, who fixed his broken wing. After recovery and two days before his arrival at SBOIC, Sherman flew into a wall and broke his wing again! (I never said owls were smrt) Fixed up a second time, Sherman has been a great addition to our SBOIC population and has raised many baby owlets.

Check out this link to help us feed our injured owls: Adopt An Owl.

There's lots of owls to help, like George, Cookie, Spike, Kay, Valentino, Sanders, Trooper, Abraham, Sherman, Gale, and Zeus.

Hide and Seek

Age: 22 days old
Mass: 131 grams

It's hard to hide those big feet.

Five reasons why owls should be outdoors

Especially when they are learning how to fly.

1. Sticky fly strips
2. Hanging mobiles
3. Wall mounted ceramics
4. Souvenir Guinness clock from Dublin
5. Owner of above items :(

Shorty is practicing his flying wings and taking the house down with him.

Thankfully nothing broke despite gravity or owl, and it only took a minute to free a small tab of sticky fly paper out of his tail feathers. I spent the next hour further owl-proofing the house.

Feeding Time

Age: 21 days old
Mass: 133 grams

George is still learning how to fly and it seems to be a matter of trial and error. Mostly error.



George is starting to pull at his food, which means that soon he'll be able to tear into his own mouse. It's a matter of practice, and of course, developing stronger muscles.




My dog is always curious and wants in on the action, but George is clearly not going to share. Go, George, GO!

Important Discovery

This is Sanders, another ambassador owl, doing her best impression of a solar panel. When relaxed and presented with a sunbeam, burrowing owls will soak up the rays by laying flat and sometimes even spreading the wings to absorb more heat.


Spotting a sunbeam in the corner of our interpretive centre, I decided to find out if George loved sunbeams as much as the next burrowing owl.

After setting George down in the middle of a hearty sunbeam, this is how he immediately reacted.



Let's take a close up.


Oh dear, I disturbed his reverie.



This deserves some video. LOOK AT HIS TINY TAIL!

I think this was an important day for George. Sunbeams are awesome.

Age: 20 days old
Mass: 126 grams

Meet George

Age: 19 days old
Mass: 123 grams

SBOIC is opening a new interpretive exhibit called "Endangered Spaces, Endangered Species" on July 11th.

Check out our new exhibit, meet some owls (including George), and learn about conservation on the prairies.

Festivities start at 1pm, with a ribbon cutting ceremony. At 2pm, we'll be joined by the hosts of Hinterland Who's Who. Guided tours, cake, and crafts will follow. See our website for more info: www.sboic.ca.

Mr. Squishy

Age: 18 days old
Mass: 117 grams

While George looks like a tennis ball with legs, I assure you that it's mostly feathers. Here, George is alseep, leaning against his plastic case, and you can see that half of him squishes right down.

Take #1. Okay, take #2. Well, fine, take #3.

Age: 17 days old
Mass: 115 grams

If it seems like I post a lot of photos of George asleep, that's because sometimes it's really hard to take a picture of him standing still.

Once he figured out how to run (and by run, I mean sprint), George has been exercising his freedom to explore and fall down.

In front of house guests, no less...

George is pretty sleepy here, napping away.


But, like the rest of us, those naps can get away from us.

Owls have seriously bendy necks - as they should, since they have 14 neck bones compared to our measly 7.

Let's take a page from CuteOverload.com and see an Extreme Close-up of this redonkulousness.

Yes, I think his beak is actually touching the ground.

****SBOIC is licensed to keep and display all their educational animals. Only qualifed individuals with proper permits are allowed to keep native species. Taking an animal from its wild home is illegal. Keep our animals wild, and leave them in their homes.