One spring morning, we received a call about two young great horned owls that had fallen from their nest high in a tree. The nest had been dislodged by strong winds during a storm the night before. Sadly, one of the owlets did not survive the fall. But miraculously, his sibling, though small, fluffed with down, and wide-eyed—was found alive, alert, and uninjured on the ground beneath the tree. With the nest too high and inaccessible to return him to, we took him in.
At our wildlife center, we gave him a quiet space, proper diet, and as little human contact as possible to ensure he retained his wild instincts. As the weeks passed, he grew stronger, his down gave way to feathers, and his fierce golden eyes grew sharper. He learned to fly in our flight enclosure, honing the skills he would need to survive on his own. After several months of careful rehabilitation, the day finally came when he was ready. We released him at a safe location not far from where he found his rightful home in the wild. As he took flight into the open sky, strong and silent, it was a bittersweet moment. Though he lost his sibling and the security of a nest, this young owl had defied the odds and returned to the life he was meant to lead.