We usually think of the golf course as a place for a little exercise and some pleasant chat. There is sometimes a little drama but not usually a matter of life and death.
That changed recently at the Smithers Golf and Country Club when there was an interesting rescue on cart path number 7.
Gord Munro was out on a round of golf when he heard the cacophony of a group of birds. On a closer examination, he discovered that the sound was coming from a murder (that’s the right word) of crows that was looking to make lunch out of a small bird.
Munro interrupted the lunch plans of the crows and rescued a small owl. The owl turned out to be a saw-whet owl, which is not an unusual species in the area.
According to Munro, the little fellow has ended up in the local wildlife centre where it is doing well.
“It didn’t have any flight feathers so it was an infant, probably born this spring,” he said. “It must have got knocked out of it’s nest.”
These owls are cavity nesters and it may have been in a tree that had recently been knocked over. Another possibility could have been that it had been picked out of it’s nest by the crows.
“They can be pretty savage. They usually eat mice and small rodents,” said Munro.
Its small size in the nest may have attracted the crows.
Munro said that he had made a visit to see the owl at the wildlife centre and that it appeared to be doing well. It will likely be released in the fall when it has flight capabilities.