The couple who found the owl brought him to LWR, and the husband and I tried unsuccessfully to remove the trap, as one side was rusted and needed more pressure than we could provide to get it open. In a desperate attempt to ensure the poor bird kept those two toes, I called a neighbor, who had a channel lock that we were able to use to remove the trap from the bird’s foot. He used the channel lock on one side, the husband pried open the other side, and I kept either of them from ending up with interesting new body piercings by restraining the bird and pulling his toes out once they had the trap open.
The couple who found the owl were infuriated, as he was found on their property, where they walk with their dogs daily. The husband was worried that a deer their dog had chased that seemed to be limping might also have been a victim of another such trap.
Luckily, it was a small trap and the toes don’t seem to be broken, just very sore. Had it been a larger trap, he’d’ve lost both those toes or, if more of his foot had gotten caught, ended up with a broken leg or worse.
Excuse me while I step off my soapbox so we can move on…
The barred owl is in the main flight and not showing any inclination to fly yet. Barreds are weird that way; nearly every one that goes into the main flight takes several days to try their wings…and to begin eating again…