Barn owl saved after nine days stranded at local Bunnings

A starving barn owl has been rescued after being trapped inside a Melbourne Bunnings for more than a week.

It may have looked like the ultimate barn home for the owl, whose species tends to nest in the rafters of farm buildings, but after being stuck there for nine days without food, the poor creature had become sick and in need of help.

Wildlife rescuer Nigel Williamson was called into the west Melbourne Bunnings in Tarneit to save the hungry owl.

He said barn owls often became stuck in warehouses and he had saved four barn owls from warehouses across Melbourne in the last two weeks.

Owls enter warehouses after being chased by ravens, often because they’d tried to steal chicks or eggs from ravens’ nests, he said.

Mr Williamson attended the store last Thursday evening at about 7pm and had expected to wait until customers left at 9pm to rescue the bird. His plan was to use a scissor lift to reach the rafters of the Bunnings, where the animal was perched.

But the animal moved to a lower shelf and Mr Williamson was able to capture it before 8pm.

He said the owl had lost more than half of its body weight and may have only survived one more day without food.

“I know these are beautiful creatures but anyone who knows birds can see how sick this owl is,” Mr Williamson said.

“Normally they are bright and looking up but this bird was compromised, it was under 50 per cent its normal body weight.
“A bird needs to eat a third of its size every day to survive, and after three days without food it would already have been compromised.”

Mr Williamson said warehouses with trapped owls should leave small amounts of cubed meat up high somewhere to allow the animal to survive while a rescue was organised.

He said not much could be done to prevent the birds coming inside but suggested if skylights were built into a roof, a section could be removed to help chase the bird out.

Owl rescues weren’t always easy and often depended on the personality of the bird, but Mr Williamson said he was successful most of the time.

He said Bunnings management had “done everything right” and had been in contact with Wildlife Victoria from the beginning.

Before its rescue, Bunnings regional manager Barbara Mclatchie said the Tarneit store had contacted local animal welfare groups to ensure the owl was relocated as soon as possible.

A Wildlife Victoria spokeswoman said the owl was first reported to its Emergency Response Service on May 9.
“(We) were in regular contact with Tarneit Bunnings and provided advice to encourage the owl out of the store or to engage a paid animal removal service,” the spokeswoman said.

“Turning off all internal lights, opening all doors and windows, and leading the animal towards external openings with food is often the best option and most stress-free solution for the animal.

“If uninjured, most native animals will make their way out of buildings when provided the opportunity to do so.”

If the animal doesn’t go freely, then it’s time to call in an expert such as Mr Williamson to capture it safely, she said.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• rafters: beams that support a building’s roof
• scissor lift: a platform of scaffolding that can go up and down and is designed to safely lift up workers to higher levels
• compromised: in bad health

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QUICK QUIZ
1. What type of owl was rescued from Tarneit Bunnings?
2. Why was the owl in poor health after being trapped inside Bunnings?
3. What are some ways suggested by Wildlife Victoria to help free native animals trapped in buildings?
4. Why do barn owls often get trapped inside warehouses?
5. How much does a bird need to eat each day, according to wildlife rescuer Nigel Williamson?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Bunnings owl
Think of an appropriate name for the owl trapped and rescued from the Victorian Bunnings store and explain your reasoning.

The Bunnings managers seem quite happy that this good news story has made it to the newspapers? Why do you think the chain store was happy and eager for a good outcome for this owl and to give interviews to the press?

How might Bunnings stores help trapped wildlife in the future?

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
How do you think wildlife experts, such as Mr Williamson, capture these trapped or injured animals without causing any harm?

If this owl did not come down to a lower shelf on its own, how might Mr Williamson have captured it?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?

Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.