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1.
Don't waste paper. Reuse paper that's only been used on one
side, then recycle it when you've used the other side. Buy recycled paper
to keep up the demand for it. When forests are cut to make paper it hurts the
birds that require older forest growth. Another way you can save paper is to
stop getting junk mail, which most of us want to do anyway!
This website
has information about simple things you can do to get less junk mail.
2.
Keep your cat indoors.
House cats occasionally kill or injure small owls, but the bigger problem is
that they kill a lot of owl food (mice.) This makes it harder for owls,
especially smaller species, to survive where there are a lot of cats. Keep in
mind that it's healthier for your cat to stay indoors for a number of reasons,
but one of those reasons is that Great Horned Owls are known to eat cats! For
more information about keeping cats indoors, go to
Cats Indoors!
Or visit our webpage about owls and pets.
3.
Don't let your dog chase birds. When an owl kills a large prey
animal it sometimes spends several minutes on the ground eating. During this
time it can easily be killed or badly injured by a dog. Young owls just learning
to fly are especially vulnerable to dogs.
4.
Support an owl rehabilitation/research/education center near you. Go
to our
LINKS page
for a list of some organizations that help owls. Some of these facilities give
you the option of "adopting" an owl. Your adoption fee goes to help an
individual owl, and in return you get a certificate and the satisfaction of
knowing you helped make a difference in the life of an owl. A wonderful gift
idea for owl lovers! The
Global Owl Project is
a
worldwide effort to bring together and standardize research on all of the
world's owl species. Financial contributions will help make a difference for
owls on a global level.
5.
Don't even think about having an owl for a pet. Owls
are protected by law, so it's illegal to keep them in captivity in the U.S.
without a license. But at least as important, owls are wild, natural beings
requiring a wild, natural life. They simply cannot be happy in a small cage like
you see in the Harry Potter movies. Also, owls are not at all easy to care for.
They need to eat fresh whole animals, and their droppings are messy and smelly,
requiring frequent clean-up. They can also put up quite an all-night racket
during mating season.
6.
Consider becoming an owl researcher. There is so much that
isn't known about owls yet, especially owls in tropical regions. For some
species, virtually nothing is known even about their basic biology. Science
doesn't have all the answers, but we need interested and dedicated individuals
to help find the answers! Click
here
to see recent owl research presented at the 2nd International Northern Forest
Owl Symposium.
7.
Don't pick up young owls on the ground unless you know that they are
sick, injured, or BOTH parents have been killed. Fledgling owls normally spend a
week or more on the ground before they can fly. At this stage they have fully
developed wing feathers and short tails, but the rest of their body is still
fuzzy. Their parents are usually somewhere nearby taking care of them. If an
owl does need help, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator immediately. DON'T
FEED IT! Click
here to
find a rehabilitator in your area.
8.
Remove any unused barbed wire on your property. All too often owls
get hung up in barbed wire. They either die a lingering death, are killed by
another animal, or, if rescued, often need to be euthanized due to the extent of
their injuries.
9.
Avoid using poisons and pesticides. These in effect wind up
poisoning your local owl food supply. Some owls eat mice, some eat rats, some
eat insects...and dying animals will always be easier to catch than healthy
prey. Even if you don't poison these species directly, pesticides are still
likely to work their way into the food chain.
10.
Leave dead trees standing when they aren't dangerous. Dead trees
make wonderful nesting and roosting sites for many species of owls (as well as
other critters.)
11.
Put up owl nest boxes (or make artificial burrows) if you're in the right
location. The type of nesting structure and location are very
important choices to make. Click
here to
find out more about providing owl housing.
12.
Habitat, habitat, habitat! If you own land, consider the needs of
the owls who might be living there. Consider a permanent conservation easement
to protect the land after you're gone. If you don't own land, support
organizations that support habitat conservation.
13.
Don't throw your garbage, including food, into ditches. This
garbage attracts all kinds of little rodents, which in turn attract things that
eat little rodents--like owls. Owls are often hit by cars when they hunt along
roadways, killing or injuring them. An unbelievable number of Great Gray Owls
were killed along roadways during the winter of 2004-2005 because they were
hunting along roads.
begun from a list on
www.lauraerickson.com with permission
To learn much more about helping owls and other
birds, read
101 Ways to Help Birds by
Laura Erickson
(you can even request an autographed copy
when you order from the above link)
website hosted by
The Owl Pages
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