Thursday morning brings an adult Tawny Owl from Stoke by Nayland to my door…
Received a telephone call from Giles who had found this adult female Tawny Owl in his lounge by the fireplace. Initially we thought she had come in via the chimney, but further investigation revealed it was more likely she had come in via an open window in another room. Sadly their Jack Russell had found the owl and had attacked her but then released her and proceeded to bark at anyone who would listen, as only Jack Russell’s can! Giles picked Nayland up and was very concerned about the right eye as he thought the dog may have damaged it. He made contact and we arranged for him to bring the bird over to me. Nayland was very weak and traumatised and the left eye did look swollen and sore. Administered painkiller and hydration and took her to see my vet Robert Lees at Linkswood Veterinary Centre that afternoon. We gave her anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories plus cream for the eye. Luckily(?) it was the eyelid that was swollen rather than the eye itself so, hopefully, this will recover in a relatively short time. Took Nayland back today, Saturday, for a repeat injection and, after I explained that she was still quite discombobulated after a feed, when placed back in the cage, Robert discovered another bite below her ear which may well have caused some nerve damage. We return on Wednesday to assess the situation and administer another dose of drugs. Fingers firmly crossed that we can get this beautiful female back to her home territory in Nayland in due course…
