Northern Hawk Owl makes cute kayak ornament

What a great story.  A kayaker paddling on Finland's Lake Tuusula on Sunday rescued a Northern Hawk Owl bobbing in the water, saving it from an eventual death.  In turn, look at this great photo.  Too cute. 


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/kayaker-saves-owl-finland-lake-tuusula_n_4236001.html

Photo of it in the water.
http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/Syliin+pyrkinyt+uimarip%C3%B6ll%C3%B6+herkisti+kokeneen+melojan/a1383706551555


More photos here:

http://www.lansivayla.fi/artikkeli/264359-mediahitiksi-noussut-pollo-sai-lammon-espoolaisesta-kainalosta-%E2%80%93-katso-kuvat

Nice rescue story, but not cute. For me, any bird near death, in distress (unable to fly or stand) would not appear cute. The picture posted is not cute, it shouts that something is very wrong with the bird.
I guess cute is a relative word.

STEVENMAJOR wrote:Nice rescue story, but not cute. For me, any bird near death, in distress (unable to fly or stand) would not appear cute. The picture posted is not cute, it shouts that something is very wrong with the bird.
I guess cute is a relative word.

Of course the situation itself is not "cute".  But the owl is...look at that face.  The story had a great ending as the owl survived thanks to the hand of man.  This is one reason why owls and raptors prefer not to migrate over large open bodies of water and tend to hug the shoreline.

There is always an exception; Snowy owl shot at the airport in Hawaii.

Great story, Wilson thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing  Owls soon.

Heartwarming.

Very compassionate of that man to save the hawk. Thanks.

That bird is terrified! Glad to hear that it flew off on its own strength. Nice story.

Robert

Mike Ogle wrote:There is always an exception; Snowy owl shot at the airport in Hawaii.

I remember that story.  I found the following article which provides some detail about what happened.  ""Despite a USDA official’s best efforts to chase the owl away, it wasn’t moving so the official called his boss to identify it which was confirmed to be a Snowy Owl.  They shot off five flares to scare the bird away to no avail. Several attempts to catch it in a gun net was unsuccessful. After two hours the decision was made to shoot it.
Officials were distraught over the whole situation."

Link to story:  http://hawaii.energy-environment.blogs.civilbeat.com/post/16450956889/details-emerge-about-snowy-owl-holiday-death


The easiest way to get a snowy owl to come close to you is to use live bait.  That's why snowy owl workshops exist.  Everyone who photographs snowy owls up here in Ontario/Quebec knows that. Hawaiians likely have very little experience with snowy owls and what makes them tick.  I would assume the snowy owl would have been hungry no matter how it ended up on the island.  The closer the owl is, the better the chances to net it.  So, had the authorities known about this technique it may not have had to kill it.

Karl Egressy wrote:Great story, Wilson thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing  Owls soon.

The iPhone and Apple IOS thing still has not been fixed....almost a year later.

Karl Egressy wrote:Great story, Wilson thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing  Owls soon.

Hope to have a decent winter of owls.  It won't be like last winter but I'll take any owls .  




We had some very cold days last winter with even record breaking temps in Ontario.  I purchased a Canada Goose parka so I am ready this time around .   For those who are not aware, there are a lot of "fakes" out there.  If you see a Canada Goose coat advertised at a heavily discounted price, chances are very good it is NOT a real Canada Goose coat.  I almost fell for it and I'm usually very careful.  These counterfeit online stores flagrantly violate copyrights using the same images, logo, names, etc. of the real thing.  The Canada Goose site has a list of authorized retailers so buy only from them.  As well, you can input a website link on the Canada Goose site and it will tell you if it is an authorized dealer.  http://www.canada-goose.com/counterfeit/

Bring on the cold, snow and owls.