Firefighters are known for rushing into burning buildings to save lives, but last night several volunteers from the Mosheim Volunteer Fire Department took time to help some feathered residents of Greene County. They released two owls that had recently been rescued and rehabilitated.
Mosheim fireman Bobby Carter told Radio Greeneville that on Thanksgiving evening, the department was notified that a small owl had been struck by a car on West Andrew Johnson Highway near the department’s headquarters. Carter said members in the area found a small screech owl injured on the side of the road and brought it to the station to see how they could help.
Screech owls are distinctive trills and excellent camouflage. Despite their size, they are heavy hunters. An adult screech owl can consume more than 1,000 mice in a year.
They reached out to Lisa Thomison, who operates Owl Ridge Raptor Center in Washburn, Grainger County. Thomison is a licensed raptor and owl rehabilitation specialist and agreed to take the owl into care. The bird showed signs of trauma and bruising around its right eye, as well as shock from the impact, but was otherwise in good condition. Thomison treated the male screech owl, and after only a few days he returned to normal behavior and appetite, eating about two mice per day.
On Monday, volunteer fireman Kyle Reynolds retrieved the owl, along with a second owl that was ready for release. The second bird was a Great Horned Owl that had also been cared for at the facility. Being the volunteers they are, members of the department offered to assist with that release as well.
Carter and Reynolds, along with Mosheim VFD Assistant Chief Thomas Gulley, members Brandon Kinser and Michael Tolliver, junior member Jackson Reynolds, and several family members met at Anna Sue Ward Park in Mosheim for the release Monday night.
Reynolds said the rehabber recommended returning the screech owl as close as possible to where it had been found, because screech owls often mate and remain in the same territory. The park is just over the hill from the rescue location.
The Great Horned Owl was released separately and at a different location because it can pose a threat to smaller screech owls. Standing over a foot tall and a wing span of over three feet, the Great Horned Owl is known for its deep baritone “hoo-hoo” call that echoes through the woods.
Reynolds and his family released the owl, affectionately named “Alexander the Great Horned Owl”, on their farm on Elmer Hayes Road.
Owl Ridge Raptor Center is a non-profit facility. Click here to find out how to help support that facility, and click here to help support the Mosheim Volunteer Fire Department..
