Hazel the Northern Spotted Owl

by J. B. Mire,Wildlife Care Center Volunteer and Bob Sallinger, Urban Conservation Director

Visitors to Portland Audubon's Wildlife Care Center will have a rare opportunity to see and learn about one of the Pacific Northwest's most well-known but rarely seen residents, a federally listed (threatened) Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis). Hazel, the Northern Spotted Owl, was found starving on the ground in the Mt. Hood National Forest in January 2004. She had injuries to both eyes consistent with some sort of impact, and her feathers were in terrible condition. A definitive cause of injury was never determined. Staff and volunteers worked with the two-year-old female owl for more than a year, hoping to set her free once again. Within a few months, her weight increased from an emaciated 400 grams to more than 760 grams. Sadly, however, the damage to her primary feathers extended all the way down to the feather follicles, and many of the new feathers that grew were distorted and misshapen. After more than a year of effort, it was clear that she would never again regain the ability to fly.

Early in spring 2005, we began working with the owl to determine whether she could adapt to life in captivity. It can be a traumatic experience for an adult bird that has spent its entire life flying free to adjust to life in a cage and around humans. Since March 3, we've been teaching the owl to perch on the glove and helping her to be comfortable with her handlers and the public. She has been doing well with her routine, and in April we sought and obtained permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to keep her permanently at Audubon to help educate the public about this fascinating and controversial species. After some debate we settled on the name "Hazel." (We do not name animals if we consider them releasable. This reminds us that keeping these animals as wild as possible during captivity is critical to their survival once they are released. Since Hazel will spend the rest of her life in captivity, retaining this wildness is no longer necessary.)

The Northern Spotted Owl was listed in 1990 as threatened throughout its entire range under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Declines were attributed primarily to the loss and adverse modification of the mature and old-growth forests on which they depend. Today, only 10-15% of the old-growth forest remains. Despite the ESA listing in 1990 and development of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, which set aside large reserves of owl habitat for protection and restoration, owl populations continue to decline at an estimated rate of 4% annually across their range. Ongoing logging on state and private lands and salvage logging on federal lands remain major threats to the Northern Spotted Owl's survival.

Release is always the primary goal for any native wild animal brought to the Care Center, but this objective takes on even greater significance when the animal in question is a listed species. In the wild, an adult owl such as Hazel might have a range as large as 3,000 acres. She would look for a cavity or for branch debris on a large tree limb in interior forest habitat to make her nest. Spotted owls can breed in the wild as early as two years of age. They typically lay two or three eggs, and established pairs usually remain in the same territory for many years. Hazel was not banded when she arrived at Audubon, so it is not known whether she was part of a breeding pair.

Although Hazel will not return to the wild to raise young and help perpetuate her species, her life will still have great significance. It is striking how many people who have met her at the Care Center have never before actually seen this owl species, which has had such a great impact on the political and geographic landscape of the Pacific Northwest. One common comment is that she does not look as people expected her to look. Two months of twice-daily training sessions have brought Hazel to the point where she has been able to make her first forays to classrooms and nature events. There really is something extraordinary about these deep-forest creatures that can't be explained in words: it can only be experienced. Hopefully the presence of this rarely seen owl in our habitat will help remind us all of why it is so important to protect their habitat.