Owl rarely seen in Oregon dies after being found soaked in rain. ‘Terribly sad’
A northern spotted owl rarely seen outside of an old growth forest died after he was found soaked in rain at an Oregon city park.
The owl was spotted Nov. 6 at Mount Tabor Park in Portland, according to the Portland Audubon.
Tara Lemezis who is part of the nonprofit’s education team rushed to the park and found the owl lying with his eyes closed on a forest trail, the group said.
Lemezis took the bird back to the organization’s wildlife hospital.
“He was dull, wet, had blood on his feet, beak and body feathers, and could barely stand or keep himself upright,” wildlife rehabilitator Ashley Lema said in the release.
They tried to save the owl, but he died, the nonprofit said.
Now the wildlife group is wondering how the owl ended up in the city park.
Northern spotted owls typically aren’t found “outside of their range” of old growth forests, making this sighting “very rare,” the nonprofit said.
But the group said it’s possible “this hatch-year bird dispersed in the wrong direction.”
A cause of death will be determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Oh how terribly sad,” one person commented on Facebook.
What to know about northern spotted owls
The northern spotted owl was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, according to The National Wildlife Federation.
It has brown coloring with white spots and dark eyes.
These owls don’t migrate and prefer to live in old growth trees that take about 150 to 200 years to develop, the organization said.
However, logging in old growth forests has threatened this species, in addition to competition from the barred owl.
“The appearance of an imperiled Northern Spotted Owl in our own backyard, followed by its sad passing, reminds us that our collective work to protect this species is as important today as it was three decades ago,” Portland Audubon Director of Conservation Quinn Read said in the news release.
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Owl rarely seen in Oregon dies after being found soaked in rain. ‘Terribly sad’."
