After 10 weeks in care at Orphaned Wildlife (OWL) in Delta, the baby barred owl named Creeker that was found in Roberts Creek returned to the Sunshine Coast to fly free.
A group of about a dozen people who fell in love with Creeker while he was in care for a short time at the Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (GWRC) showed up for his release on Aug. 5.
It didn’t take long for Creeker to spot a tree on Day Road, spread his wings and fly towards it, giving the crowd just seconds to snap pictures before he disappeared into the foliage.
It was an exciting moment for Janine Read, the woman who originally found Creeker sitting on the forest floor back in May.
At the time, Read took the baby barred owl that still had to develop proper flying feathers to the GWRC, after finding out it wouldn’t survive long out of its nest.
“This is so exciting and so cool,” Read said at the release.
“It’s a really amazing thing to be a part of.”
Creeker benefited from over two months of training at OWL in Delta where he was matched up with resident owl Demon who quite literally took Creeker under his wing.
OWL workers were originally concerned about Creeker because he would screech every time someone would walk by, which signalled he was associating people with food.
After several weeks with Demon and three other baby owls that came to the rehabilitation centre in Delta, Creeker learned to fly and to hunt for his own food, which meant it was time for him to be released.
Clint and Irene Davy of GWRC got Creeker back via helicopter last week and his release was planned for the evening of Aug. 5.
The Davys were happy to see Creeker fly away, strong and healthy, in the area he was originally found.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Irene said.
Currently the GWRC has about 60 birds in care as well as eight baby squirrels, a baby mink and four raccoons.
The GWRC is the only organization on the Coast dedicated to helping wildlife in need and it relies entirely on public donations to stay afloat.
Find out more at www.gibsonswildliferehabcentre.org
See photos of the owl release in our online galleries at www.coastreporter.net
