YOUNG WILDLIFE ENTHUSIAST COMES TO RESCUE OF OWLETS
YOUNG WILDLIFE ENTHUSIAST COMES TO RESCUE OF OWLETS
Rachel Siroky with the young barn owls she rescued. photograph: alastair watson
A YARROW Valley teenager has rescued orphaned baby barn owls.
Minister's daughter Rachel Siroky adopted the owlets after their mother abandoned them when their nest was accidentally destroyed.
The 16-year-old told us: "They are doing really well. They are just such amazing creatures."
She had noticed the annual visitors flying in and out of a nearby barn when she walked her pet dog Rae.
Then the building was cleared of its hay bales and Rachel became concerned the birds of prey may have been rearing young.
"I went back and found the owlets tangled up in some string. It was round their necks and talons.
"I untied them and went a few metres away and hid to see if the mother would come back. But after about an hour nothing had happened.
"I looked at the pellets which were all dry and the owlets didn't look that well, hunched and skinny, and their eyes were closed.
She and her mother Ester took the young owls home in a box.
"We gave them lots of water and some meat. At first we had to force it down them, but now they have started eating on their own. They're much better and their feathers are growing in."
She emailed the RSPB who gave her details of an animal hospital to contact for advice.
Rachel went on: "I'm not sure how old they are. One is really quite small - you can hold it in your palm - the other two are a bit bigger." Rachel, who has had a lifelong interest in wildlife, hopes to release the birds back to the wild and will make them a nesting box.
"We just see them when we feed them. We are not trying to tame them so that they can be released again."
She is feeding the young birds three mice a day, caught in traps in their and neighbours' gardens, along with the occasional roadkill.
The family has rescued house martin chicks, a crow, seven baby rabbits and an injured stoat in recent years.
"We have had a few animals and birds before, but none as interesting and amazing as the owls. They are very special.
"They're getting fierce. They weren't making a sound before, but now they are starting to hiss if you go near them and when they're hungry they get quite energetic. When you give them food sometimes they fight for bits of meat."
A neighbour praised the teenager's actions and urged land managers to take care not to put the rare birds at risk.
Rachel, previously a rats and mice pet owner, has chickens and, as from Monday this week, a 16-week-old Dutch rabbit called Lenny
Animal charities SSPCA and RSPB praised the teenager's action and offered advice.
Borders RSPB conservation officer Mike Fraser said: "Young birds should only be rescued if it is absolutely certain that their parents have abandoned them. Although (in this case) the parents would not have returned to feed them until dark, the disturbance to the nest site may well have scared them off.
"Rachel has done well and is also doing just the right thing by not trying to make pets out of them."
Sally Gillespie
sally.gillespie@tweeddalepress.co.uk
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Weather for Selkirk
Friday 25 May 2012
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