Owl stuck in Utah concrete mixer flies free after replacement feathers

Owls rescued near construction sites can still take months to heal

Workers pouring concrete at a resort construction site in southwestern Utah discovered an adolescent great horned owl that had somehow made its way into a truck-mounted mixer in late October, according to the account from the sanctuary and supporting reporting. After the discovery, the owl began a long recovery as employees and animal-care staff worked to remove the dried material that had become embedded in the bird’s body and feathers.

At Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, staff hosed the bird down and then, over several days, picked the concrete away from the owl’s face, chest and right wing using forceps. They cleaned feathers with toothbrushes and dish soap and then transferred the owl into the sanctuary’s aviary run, where employees waited for it to molt and grow replacement plumage.

But the expected feather growth did not progress as anticipated. In early May, the owl underwent a feather-replacement procedure known as “imping,” staff said. The process uses adhesive to graft donor feathers onto existing shafts, and the sanctuary described the steps it took before beginning the work, including examining feather patterns every few weeks and snipping damaged shafts in advance.

Bart Richwalski, a supervisor at the sanctuary, described the procedure as initially nerve-wracking and then smoother as the team moved through the work. Staff anesthetized the owl and laid donor feathers from a similarly sized deceased owl nearby so they could replicate each wing, then cut and lined up the feathers to the required length before adhering them to the bird.

By the end of the 90-minute imping procedure, the owl had 10 new primary feathers and a secondary feather on its right wing. Sanctuary staff then watched for the owl’s ability to fly normally and, as part of the release readiness process, tested how loudly the owl’s wingbeat sounded—because the concrete had frayed the feathers and caused the bird to make a whooshing sound while flying before treatment.

After anesthesia recovery, the owl quickly took flight inside a large aviary. Richwalski used a decibel meter to measure the sound of the wingbeat and determined the bird’s flight was quiet enough for release; the owl hovered briefly while the aviary roof was retracted, then gained speed and flew out into the wild, the report said.

Richwalski said the team felt relief and excitement as the owl flew away, saying the nervousness had been building while they waited for the bird to demonstrate that the new feathers would support silent hunting flight. The recovery continued to hinge on survival of the grafted feathers until the owl could grow new ones in the coming summer months.

Karla Bloem, executive director of the International Owl Center, said imping has been practiced by falconers “for eons” and described it as an effective treatment. She added that it would be acceptable if a couple of the grafted feathers fell out, because the majority of the replacements just need to remain until the bird regrows its own feathers.

Bloem said the owl’s next steps would involve adapting to life back in the wild, including finding territory and other opportunities that great horned owls typically pursue as they recover their flight and hunting routine.