Seeking Female American Barn Owl for Foster Care

Each year the Louise Shimmel Wildlife Hospital at the Cascades Raptor Center receives many nestling barn owls that cannot be renested. For the past 18 years, our American Barn Owl foster parents have cared for almost every nestling we have had come into care. Unfortunately, our foster mother is beginning to have age related welfare concerns. As such we are searching for a new foster mother to continue her legacy. To ensure that we can continue to provide expert care to nestling Barn Owls we are reaching out early to ensure we do not experience any gaps in our care.

Our ideal candidate is a hand-raised or hatch-year female who is young enough to smoothly acclimate to human care. Causes for being non-releasable could include being a human imprint, permanent eye or ear injury, or a mild orthopedic issue. We are looking for a bird that has a disability that will cause as minimal an impact on long-term welfare as possible. As such, we cannot consider completely non-flighted birds, birds with joint fractures, long-bone fractures that impact joints, or birds with existing severe arthritis. We might be open to considering an adult female candidate with the right temperament. For this role the bird will be kept in an aviary away from contact with the general public, and fairly minimal contact with staff. The bird will not participate in any education or special programs.

If you think you might have a bird that would be suitable for this position please reach out to us at your earliest convenience by phone or email. We are happy to consider any candidate you may have information on.