Snowy owl rescued from basement of local building

OHIO -- When Mike Tillman woke up Thursday, he never imagined he would see the elusive snowy owl that has been randomly spotted hanging about the shores of Lake Erie this winter.

But shortly after he arrived at work at 9 a.m., he spotted one in the most peculiar of places.

The 57-year-old maintenance worker showed up to the Lorain Palace Theatre, 617 Broadway, to do “a little bit of this, and a little bit of that,” Tillman said, when he moseyed over to the Eagle’s Nest next door.

Tillman said a flooding issue had been plaguing the building, so at 9:30 a.m., he decided to check on the situation.

As he made his way through the damp, musty corridors of the building’s basement, Tillman said he was shocked when he saw a white figure lurking in the corner.
“The light caught the white and it was a few feet away from me,” he said. “I thought it was somebody crouching down. I about had a heart attack.”
Tillman said that’s when he first laid eyes on the owl.
Startled, Tillman said he retreated from the basement to regroup and soak in what he had just witnessed.
“That’s when I just kind of left and then I went back in to make sure I wasn’t seeing things,” Tillman said with a laugh. “It was there. Oh man!”
A couple hours later, Tillman’s discovery was confirmed when Amy LeMonds, director of wildlife for the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, arrived.
The pair, along with LeMonds’ father, ventured back into the murky basement where there sat the animal.
Caringly, LeMonds approached the emaciated owl, calming it with the tone of her voice. The animal hopped its way around the basement ever so carefully, but was in no shape to resist.
That’s when the owl’s passive nature allowed LeMonds to log her first snowy owl rescue in her eight years with the center.
“I’m pretty excited. This is my first snowy owl,” she said with a huge grin.
“Mine too!” exclaimed Tillman.
Because of the owl’s condition and how easily it allowed her to rescue it, LeMonds said she believed the animal had been captive in the basement for some time.
“It was clearly stuck with how skinny it was,” she said. “It was dark and we were slow and calm, but you should not be able to capture any animal that easily.”
LeMonds said the owl will now find temporary shelter at the center’s rehab facility, where it will be given an opportunity to de-stress.
A veterinarian could be called in to assess the owl, but she would not be transporting it in an attempt to prevent further stress, LeMonds said.
Because of what they eat and the amount of energy it takes to digest the food, LeMonds said the owl will be placed on a strict diet of fluids and a substitute food until it can be assessed.
“It would actually kill them to try and digest food particles and bones in this condition,” she said.

What’s next for the owl will depend on the amount of time it takes for it to recuperate, according to LeMonds.
“If we get its weight up rather quickly and it progresses well, we will get it back out (into the wild),” she said. “If it has to stay longer-term in captivity, we may utilize other resources like the Medina Raptor Center where it can get some flight training and help build its muscle tone back up.”

When asked if Tillman saved the owl from certain demise, LeMonds responded with an emphatic “yes.”

“It’s still an uphill battle when they’re emaciated and dehydrated like that,” she said. “But I would say, absolutely, he did.”

(The Morning Journal - Jan 16, 2014)