When workers began pouring concrete at a resort construction site in southwestern Utah, they were met with a surprise: A…
When workers began pouring concrete at a resort construction site in southwestern Utah, they were met with a surprise: A great horned owl appeared in the slurry as it emptied from the truck, its body coated with the mixture.
Workers came to the bird’s aid, hosing it down before the environmental affairs director at the Black Desert Resort wrapped it in a towel and made a call to state wildlife officials.
It took days for workers at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab to painstakingly remove the concrete from the bird’s face, chest and right wing. They called the bird a “fighter,” and it is expected to fly free again.
Joseph Platt, the environmental affairs director, said Wednesday that there is a conservation area at Black Desert and wildlife commonly wander onto its property.
He said the resort is adding a two-story underground garage, and as one of the concrete trucks arrived, the workers heard a noise and thought they hit something. When they began pouring concrete, the owl came out.
Platt said his main concern was the concrete dust in its eyes.
Luke Matschek, a state biologist who responded to the call, said birds that aren’t very injured put up a fight, but this owl reached a phase of “total acceptance.” He called the sanctuary to see if they had space for it.
“He looked rough, but not to the point of being unsavable. He looked like he needed a little bit of care and attention,” Matschek said.
After making sure the bird could breathe, sanctuary workers spent days cracking apart the concrete using forceps. They cleaned the feathers using toothbrushes, dish soap and their fingers.
Two weeks later it was able to fly again and is continuing its recovery in an aviary.
“He’s a youngster, which may be why he ended up in a concrete mixer, and we do believe he’s a male because he’s on the smaller side,” said Bart Richwalski of the animal sanctuary.
Great horned owls typically have a downy coating that allows them to fly silently as they hunt. But the concrete frayed the rescued owl’s feathers, Best Friends’ chief sanctuary officer Judah Battista said.
Now the bird makes a “whooshing” sound as it flies, and the sanctuary will not release it into the wild until it sheds its feathers and can again fly silently. That should occur next spring or summer, Battista said.
“Once our owl friend recovers, we anticipate taking him back to near where he was found, not on the construction site but somewhere that is a natural habitat for him, and release him and let him be,” Richwalski said.
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