Dead Barn Owl found

[MattyB]

Jen found this barn owl, dead in the garden this morning. This is one of the most beautiful animals I've ever seen. They are our best predator for gophers, rats, and mice around here and they can be seen and heard screeching around the canyons every night. They often make a flyby on our living room windows and are a beautiful silent white streak across the sky.

I hate to think that secondary poisoning, due to my rodent poison, could be the cause of this animals death. Someone from SD county vector control came out and picked up the bird for testing of West Nile virus since it's recently dead and in very good condition. Look at the eyes! It looks alive still. It died just last night or this morning because it was not there last night when we were walking around.

Can anyone speak, with any expertise on possible secondary poisoning risks? SD County Vector Control encourages baiting safely (due to plague/squirrels and Haunta virus/rodents) in bait stations, with the proper .005% or less active ingredient baits, and says that as long as you use the anti-coagulant baits in those lower rates that you can buy in the stores that there's no risk of secondary poisoning. I'm not sure I believe that there's no risk. Anyone know about this?

[DoomsDave]

Hmm, Matty, interesting!

Owls are a lot more beautiful than people tend to credit them for being, as your picture shows.

I did a bit of research, and I suspect that your decedent met its end in some other way, though I can't be certain.

Barn owls don't live long in the wild on average (according to W-Pedia) though they can live a long time in captivity. They get eaten a lot by other, larger, predators, including other owls.

As for the poisoning, I don't think that's what happened here, either.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK

The link points to an article where someone did a study of raptor poisoning after eating poisoned ground squirrels.

One key point might be wether the dead, poisoned animal was eviscerated first. Owls generally eviscerate their prey, unless the critter's very small.

Hmm . . . .

[DoomsDave]

Matty, what's the active ingredient of your rodenticide?

Apparently strychnine has fallen out of favor and been replaced by zinc phosphide.

I used to use strych, and, well, it can suck.

[MattyB]

The bait that I use in the attic/under house space is D-con brand bait blocks and the active ingredient is Brodifacoum.

The bait that I use in bait stations for squirrels is Sure Stop brand and the active ingredient is Diphacinone.

I just re-upped the squirrel bait station a couple of days ago and when I checked this morning, most of it was gone. This is why I'm so concerned that I may have played a part in the owls death. I haven't seen any squirrel activity near the house so I'm kicking myself for trying to be proactive in this case. Other rodents may have eaten the bait and become prey of the owl.

Last Winter we had a huge rat and mouse population explosion and the house was being infested. So I put out bait blocks all over the attic and basement to get them. That week we found a dead owl in the canyon.

Is this just a cooincidince? How can "safe" bait be so dramatic? I hope it's just cooincidince.

[Mandrew968]

The most interesting man in the world can hear owls fly...

[MattyB]

I read that when a bird, or other animal, dies from anti-coagulant, there's usually some blood near the mouth because it is bleeding internally. I have seen this in rodents. Also, they said there's usually some superficial wounds on the animal, usually on the feet and legs. I assume this is from flailing around.

[QUINNPALMS]

I only use poisonless traps for that reason, I hate to see the beneficial wildlife die...

[DoomsDave]

I think as long as the owls eviscerate their prey, there won't be any problem for them in any event, from what I've seen.

[The Silent Seed]

I'm sorry to say, but I would think it was poisoned.

I've actually never heard of the eviscerating - I've watched owls feed, and they just swallow (small) prey whole - they probably do tear apart larger prey, obviously, but if the poison is entering the bloodstream, then it's throughout the animal, not just the guts. Science 101. (PS - I cannot see the owl picking carefully through the guts, making sure it gets every last inch, either.)

What a gorgeous Owl, though. We just saw one in its hole this spring - first Barn I had seen in the wild here. A museum probably would want it.

Edited August 26, 2011 by santoury

[Palm crazy]

That happen to one of my neighbors cat. Another neighbor left out poison for the possums on his deck. (using poison is illegal in our state).

Owls are beautiful creatures.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Palm crazy

[John in Andalucia]

Matty - a sad tale, and a beautiful bird. As you say, it's their job to prey on rodents. It would be all the more devastating if your rodent control measures were responsible, but I'm no expert, so I won't pass judgement. Will you be taking it to the vets for a blood sample?

[MattyB]

John, county vector control took it to test for West Nile Virus. They will not be performing any other tests.

[John in Andalucia]

John, county vector control took it to test for West Nile Virus. They will not be performing any other tests.

Something to read if you fear you may be responsible, Matty. If rat poison is the culprit, it may not be solely down to you. This article explains a lot:

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/rodenticides-kill-wildlife/document_view

[MattyB]

I'm going to change my methods and proceed forward under the assumption that it was my fault.

[Kathryn]

What a beautiful bird! I'm sorry to hear that it may have been a result of the poison. I would feel the same way if I were you Matt. Thanks for sharing so that others are aware of this potential. Let us know what the county guy reports back.

[Walter John]

Owling at the moon...

[Kim]

Such an extraordinarily elegant creature, thanks for sharing your photos, sad though they may be. I've never seen one up close, only in cages or in photos. It will be interesting to learn if it is West Nile virus or not. I feel bad for the owl, and hope we'll all learn something from it, one way or another.

[John in Andalucia]

I can tolerate a few country rats. Do they pose the same threat as their city cousins? Check out this New York rat.

[pogobob]

Matt, I found an identical owl dead while riding my bike today in the hills of Camp Pendleton! No appearent injuries and very fresh. May be a coincidence or sometthing related like birdflu. I don't know what's going on, but both birds so peacefull and perfect, weird

[trioderob]

here is a crazy idea.

its been really hot in the east county this week.

maybe they are under alot of stress and some of them become dehydrated and weak.

[The Silent Seed]

Heat could do it - will you hear back about the virus either way?

[Gonzer]

Word is that even being in possesion of the talons of a dead owl/raptor is illegal. They are magnificent weapons on a magnificent bird. I wouldn't beat yourself up over this because it could be natural causes.

[DoomsDave]

I'm with Gonz.

Barn owls are one of the most widespread birds on earth. They're not in any danger.

They tend to lead short lives, for a whole bunch of reasons.

I wouldn't worry too much, unless you start to see a whole bunch of dead ones. If you're careful with your baits, I think the danger to the birds is minimal, especially if it's gophers.

I'd worry a lot more about your dogs, or cats.

[Alan_Tampa]

I think the poison would be mostly metabolised by the rodents. I think west nile is a good bet. Don't blame yourself, rodent control is a fact of life and prevent things like Haunta virus and other nasties from becoming out of control. Think black plague. What a little rodenticide could have prevented.

That being said, owls are awesome. Been up close and personal with a few. (worked for a vet who did a good deal of HBC and other wild animal injury surgeries)

Alan

[Stevetoad]

my father in law just found this dead one in his back yard this morning. i hope its not some kind of illness.

[The Silent Seed]

I wonder if these 3 incidents are close to each other. What is being done about it ?

[Stevetoad]

matts about 15 minutes from my house and camp pen is about 40 min or so. so there all pretty close by.

[MattyB]

Steve,

Look in the phone book under dead animal pickup and call that number. They will have a message that will give you a number to call if you find a dead raptor. If it's only been dead less than 24 hours and is not full of bugs or been crushed by a car then they will come by and pick it up immediately so that they can test it.

Maybe contact SD County Vector Control directly @ (858) 688-9156

link to dead bird pickup instructions

That's the number on the guys card that came and picked up our dead owl.

They say that dead birds are the first sign of West Nile Virus or Bird Flu

[putu enjula]

After hearing the screetching of owlets for a few weeks, the night suddenly became silent, we assumed they left the nest. Then a couple of days later we found this barn owl. I have read that the mortality rate is really high in the first year of their lives and that a lot of them only live up to two years So maybe it had nothing to do with you Matty.

After researching barn owls it makes me want to build an owl box. http://www.wildwingco.com/faq.html

Matty you might think about making nesting boxes for the barn owls so they can hunt your gophers!!!!

[pogobob]

After hearing the screetching of owlets for a few weeks, the night suddenly became silent, we assumed they left the nest. Then a couple of days later we found this barn owl. I have read that the mortality rate is really high in the first year of their lives and that a lot of them only live up to two years So maybe it had nothing to do with you Matty.

After researching barn owls it makes me want to build an owl box. http://www.wildwingco.com/faq.html

Matty you might think about making nesting boxes for the barn owls so they can hunt your gophers!!!!

Are barn owls introduced species to Hawaii?

[The Silent Seed]

Pogo - I haven't researched this deeply, but the one marvel of birds is their ability to fly. You can find all sorts of birds in strange places, because sometimes they get blown off course, or arrive via boat (if they get exhausted over water and land on a boat) and so on. I live a few miles away from the Plum Island Wildlife Reservation - and we are always seeing "new" birds that aren't supposed to be here - I don't think that the owls (if not native) would have been "introduced." A bunch of them could very easily have flown over there.

[The Silent Seed]

I just googled "Barn owls in hawaii" and the very first post says : They were introduced to Hawaii in 1958

Took me 3 seconds

[The Silent Seed]

More info: First, only 1-2 years in the wild normal lifespan ? Holy cow! No wonder everyone is finding them - but I've never seen a dead one... wonder why...

Secondly - I'm very surprised that they were "introduced" to Hawaii, when they are already found on all continents, except for Antarctica, so why couldn't they be also native to Hawaii? Curious. Thanks for sparking this thread.

Mortality: Barn Owls are short-lived birds. Most die in their first year of life, with the average life expectancy being 1 to 2 years in the wild. In North America the oldest known Barn Owl in the wild lived to be 11 years, 6 months. In Holland, a wild barn owl lived to be 17 years, 10 months old.

In England, a captive female barn owl was retired from breeding at 25 years old!

Habitat: The Barn Owl is found in virtually all habitats but much more abundantly in open woodland, heaths and moors than forested country. They usually roost by day in tree hollows but have also been found in caves, wells, out-buildings or thick foliage.

Distribution: The Barn Owl is one of the most wide-spread of all land birds. They are found on all continents (except Antarctica) and large islands and occur over the whole of Australia, including Tasmania. They occur throughout most of Britain and Europe and across many parts of Asia, Africa, and in much of North America. In South America they are found in areas of suitable grassland, as well as on oceanic islands such as the Galapagos. They were introduced to Hawaii in 1958.

[MattyB]

Interesting. Angela, we totally want to put up an owl box. There's a guy down the street that makes them so we're probably gonna buy one from him and hire a tree climber to go up the 30' tall Washingtonia in the canyon and strap it on.

We heard a lot of squaking from a Cooper's Hawk yesterday. When we went to check it out, he was buzzing a Great Horned Owl that was sitting on our chain link fence! It was so cool! I've never seen a Great Horned Owl before. They are about twice the size of the Barn Owls.

[The Silent Seed]

Funny to hear about Great Horneds out in California - they are the quintessential owl here - That said, I've only seen one in my whole life - (in the wild, that is), at dusk, a giant soft gray form gliding beneath the pine forest canopy in back of my childhood home. Truly beautiful.

Check out the Elf Owl - they are so cute, too!

[kahili]

lol there are very few birds, I think, that can "easily" fly to Hawaii-esp from the mainland where the distance is just under 3000 miles. For a land bird, I would imagine that would be almost, if not, impossible. Think about it-where are you going to sleep during the day (or night)? Let alone find food. Only ocean going birds that can sleep on the water naturally and can fish for food with long beaks would be able to make the trip from the mainland.

Its really sad and sort of unnerving to see these birds lying there dead.

[John in Andalucia]

I'm very surprised that they were "introduced" to Hawaii, when they are already found on all continents, except for Antarctica, so why couldn't they be also native to Hawaii?

lol there are very few birds, I think, that can "easily" fly to Hawaii-esp from the mainland where the distance is just under 3000 miles. For a land bird, I would imagine that would be almost, if not, impossible. Think about it-where are you going to sleep during the day (or night)? Let alone find food. Only ocean going birds that can sleep on the water naturally and can fish for food with long beaks would be able to make the trip from the mainland.

Its really sad and sort of unnerving to see these birds lying there dead.

Agreed. Barn Owls are not true migratory birds, even though they move across country. An Owlbatross could do it though.

[Stevetoad]

lol there are very few birds, I think, that can "easily" fly to Hawaii-esp from the mainland where the distance is just under 3000 miles. For a land bird, I would imagine that would be almost, if not, impossible. Think about it-where are you going to sleep during the day (or night)? Let alone find food. Only ocean going birds that can sleep on the water naturally and can fish for food with long beaks would be able to make the trip from the mainland.

Its really sad and sort of unnerving to see these birds lying there dead.

there is a kind of shore bird that i forget its name that flys from alaska to hawaii every year. im someone knows it

[Stevetoad]

found it! flew from new zealand to alaska non stop!!! My link

[GeneAZ]

My next door neighbor put up a nice Screech Owl box and was very pleased to find it occupied right away. Then the owls were displaced by a colony of Africanized bees that moved in! Well, she had the bee control out to remove the bees, and the owls came back. Then some bats moved in the same box and are apparently compatable with the owls and everybody seems to be getting along just Jake.

Gene