From Ojai Raptor Center

On a dark and stormy night near Lake Arrowhead, a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl fledgling was found soaking wet in the middle of a road, a dangerous place for a young owl learning how to live in the wild. The rescuer drove almost three hours to bring the owl to our center for care.

Thankfully, the tiny owl was healthy and had likely become too wet to fly, leaving it vulnerable on the ground. Because the nest could not be located, returning the owl to its family was not possible.

Northern Saw-whet Owls are one of North America’s smallest owl species, and they are uncommon patients for our center to receive. Over the years, we have admitted only four of these small owls. Northern Saw- whet Owls prefer higher-elevation habitat in coniferous forests and dense coastal woodlands, where they rely on camouflage and hidden cover to stay safe.

The parenting roles for this species are a little different from those of many other raptors. At first, the female stays with the chicks while the male brings food to the nest. However, once the youngest chick is around 18 days old, the female leaves and the male becomes the primary caregiver. The female may stay and help hunt for the young, or she may move on while the father continues feeding and caring for the chicks. In some cases, the female may even find another mate and nest second time in the same year.

Young Northern Saw-whet Owl fledglings leave the nest cavity at around 4 to 5 weeks old, before they are fully independent. At first, they can be clumsy and mostly flightless, using their sharp talons and beaks to climb back into nearby branches. They remain near the nest area and continue to be fed and cared for by the male for several more weeks as they grow stronger and learn to hunt.

This tiny patient gave our team a rare opportunity to care for and observe one of California’s more elusive owl species.