A Wing and a Prayer

Residents and family members at Juniper Village in Meadville are always ready to welcome Tamarack Wildlife and their feathery friends that owe their lives to the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Wildlife Rehab Center. Their goal is to rehabilitate injured wildlife and release them back into the wild, however sometimes even with all the TLC they receive it is not possible for them to survive on their own and so they care for and use these birds of prey for education.  

They brought three different species of rescued birds to share with us. First we met Lady Hawk, a red tailed hawk that came to them with a wing injury when she was less than one year old and this year is celebrating 25 years at Tamarack!

Next we met a barred owl named Sophia who was brought to Tamarack to be treated for a broken wing. Although she has healed, due to the location of the break she has limited flight so she now calls Tamarack home. Barred Owls are one of only two Pennsylvania owl species that have dark eyes (other owls have a yellow iris) and they are the most vocal variations of any Pennsylvania owl. It was interesting to watch our hunters identify recordings of the different owl’s hoots and screeches and do a little educating of their own, informing us that the sound of a Barred owl, that was quickly identified by resident, Jon McNutt is used to call out turkeys.

Lastly we were delighted with two screech owls, Willow and Jasper. Willow and her three babies were found when a tree limb containing their nest was cut down. All of her owlets were able to be released at Presque Isle but due to Willow’s wing fracture she has remained at Tamarack and has done a wonderful job mothering other injured owlets that have come and gone. Then along came Jasper, a male screech owl who came with damage to one of his eyes and one of his ears. Now that he is healed he is a marvelous companion to Willow and a great foster father to other rescued owlets.

Tamarack is happy to customize a program just for any audience and we highly recommend taking them up on the offer for an up close and personal encounter with these birds of prey your spectators will never forget.