Text: Lu Zhenzhen, reporter of Dalian News Media Group
Picture: Gao Qiang, a reporter from Dalian News Media Group
"This is an owl that the citizen just picked up, and it was sent to our police station, and we can't keep it, so we can only give it to you Bird Yulin." A few days ago, the staff of the Bird Language Forest of Dalian Laohutan Ocean Park looked at the little owl sent by the police, and some couldn't laugh or cry. In a month, they have received more than 20 owls.
Wrong Practice:
The little owl is found to have fallen and taken away for rescue
In the "temporary rescue house" of the bird whispering forest, the reporter saw this little owl that had just been sent, its small body had been swaying from side to side, the fluff on its body had not faded, and its eyes seemed to be open, in fact, there was no one to see during the day, and only a vague shadow could be felt. When humans are not present in front of it, the little owl closes its eyes and sleeps.
The little owls were delivered in cardboard boxes. There are two other friends like it, one of which is also in a fluffy state, and the other is slightly larger and is moulting. Three little owls, two in cardboard boxes and one in foam boxes.
Luan Lan, a technician from Bird Whispering Forest, told reporters that these are owls sent by citizens in the past few days. In the course of a month, Bird Yulin received more than 20 little owls, all of which were two or three months old. And none of them have any external injuries, so they don't need help at all.
Popular Science: Summer is the season when the chicks come out of the nest, the hatching period has passed, and when it comes to the nursery period, it is the stage when the big bird teaches the little birds to learn to fly and learn to hunt. Some owls and falcons will fly out of the nest and fall to the ground to be picked up by humans. Owls are nocturnal animals that cannot see clearly during the day, and out of self-preservation, little owls do not dare to move when they feel in danger. As a result, when humans see a little owl that has fallen to the ground and is not moving, they feel that it is injured and needs to be rescued.
"Actually, it's okay for the little owl to fall, because its parents are nearby, and they will take the baby back to the nest. But because the humans were approaching, the owl parents were also anxious, and they did not dare to approach, so the child was 'saved'. After the person leaves, they can't find the child around. Luan Lan appealed to the public not to pick up the birds that fell on the ground when they see them, but to ignore them or help put them on the nearest branches.
Wrong Practice:
Flyless purple-backed reedfish? It must have been injured!
The reporter learned that Dalian is close to the sea, and there are many waterbirds, and there are many waterbirds sent to the bird forest for rescue. The most common of them is a waterfowl called the purple-backed reedfish.
Popular Science: Luan Lan said that the purple-backed reed fish is a medium-sized wading bird with a body length of more than 30 centimeters, and a long beak stands in the water for a long time. Its habit is that it is reluctant to fly, often running near the water, and will fly a short distance close to the ground when it encounters danger. But it doesn't fly high, and its flight speed is relatively low. "Many citizens think that if the bird does not fly, there must be something wrong with it, it is injured! Therefore, everyone forcibly caught the purple-backed reed fish and sent it to the Bird Forest to rescue. As soon as we saw it, the bird was fine, and as soon as it opened its cage, it flew away. Remind everyone that birds do not need to be rescued without obvious external injuries. ”
Wrong to do: Feed the birds millet
In many people's cognition, birds eat millet. When everyone rescues the little owls and falcons, they will give them millet. After feeding for two or three days, I found that the bird didn't eat it, so I felt that it couldn't do it, so I sent it to the bird forest. The reporter saw that the carton with the little owl sent by the police was filled with water and millet, and the other owl box was also such a "standard configuration".
Popular Science: Luan Lan said: "Owls and falcons are birds of prey, and they eat meat. Even young birds eat meat. "The staff brought a few pieces of carpaccio to the little ones, and the little falcons ate very happily, but the little owl had a little difficulty, it smelled the meat, but it couldn't see clearly during the day, and it shook its little body and chattered left and right, and it took a lot of effort to get a bite. This is because it is so small that it does not yet eat its own food, so the keeper can only feed it one by one. If the mother owl is around, you can take it with you little by little.
Mistake: Feel the feathers of the falcon and put it in a cardboard box
Luan Lan told reporters that because the city's urban environment is better, the number of birds of prey in the city has also increased. This year, in addition to waterfowl, the number of birds of prey has also increased. In the "temporary shelter", the "permanent residents" are falcons, and five or six are currently being rescued.
Popular science: Unlike small owls that are released in a few days, falcons often need a rescue period of 3~6 months. This is because most falcons have varying degrees of damage to their feathers after they are delivered. Luan Lan said: "Some of these injuries were caused by improper strokes of the feathers by the citizens after they were rescued, that is, they were 'rubbed' by people, and some were placed in cardboard boxes and damaged when the falcons spread their wings." Birds of prey moult take longer, some take a year, and some even take two years. ”
For these "permanent residents", the breeders took out more patience, raised for a period of time to try to fly, if they could fly, if they could fly, if not, they continued to raise, and then released after a while.
Source: Dalian Evening News
