Chick was rescued

Storm blew little long-eared owl out of its nest

The young bird was found severely hypothermic.(Bild: © FOUR PAWS)

The storm of the past few days not only caused numerous fallen trees and covered houses - there were also victims in the animal kingdom. In the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria, for example, a little long-eared owl was simply blown out of its nest. A race against time began.

Pathetic - there is no other way to describe the sight of the disheveled chick, which was found lying on the ground in a garden in Kopfstetten, Gänserndorf district, by passers-by on Friday. The courageous animal lovers did not hesitate for long and immediately alerted the experts from Vier Pfoten at the Owl and Bird of Prey Station (EGS) in Haringsee.

The chick is already accepting food at the Haringsee bird of prey station.(Bild: © FOUR PAWS)

"The little owl was already very chilled and weakened - it had probably been lying helplessly on the ground for some time. In the meantime, however, it has recovered somewhat and is also eating the food offered to it enthusiastically," says Dr. Hans Frey, head of the EGS. In a few days, the team will then place the baby owl with foster parents of the same species, who will then raise it for a while. As the baby owl is otherwise unharmed, nothing stands in the way of releasing it into the wild at a later date.

Right now it makes a lot of sense to support owls, as they will start laying eggs in the next few weeks.

Dr. Hans Frey, Leiter der Eulen- und Greifvogelstation Haringsee

Like all owls, long-eared owls cannot build a nest themselves. They breed almost exclusively in the nests of crows or magpies, which are unfortunately still intensively hunted and fought against. Sometimes it gets to the point where these birds are even exterminated regionally - then the long-eared owls no longer have any "homes" there.

The bird of prey station

In 2023, 2,197 animals were helped at the Haringsee owl and bird of prey station run by FOUR PAWS. Where possible, all young owls and birds of prey were raised by foster parents of the same species and 90% of them were released back into the wild. The EGS is the only sanctuary where young birds of prey can be raised by foster parents of the same species, i.e. in a natural family group. This avoids the harmful consequences of hand-rearing. Pond turtles, hedgehogs, squirrels, hares and other small mammals were also professionally cared for and, where possible, released back into the wild.

How you can help small owls
However, you can help the owls by installing artificial nesting aids in the form of a shallow willow or bread basket lined with straw, bark mulch, small branches or brushwood. Instructions can be found on the website of the bird of prey station.