Rescue Operation Underway In Safety Harbor To Save Lone Surviving Owl

SAFETY HARBOR, FL — Safety Harbor residents are mounting a rescue operation Sunday to save a baby owl, the sole survivor of a beloved owl family at Philippe Park that died after eating rats dosed with rat poison.

Patch previously reported the deaths of the mother owl, Emily, and two of her three owlets, named Huey, Dewey, and Louie after the Disney characters, born on New Year's Eve.

See related story: Beloved Mother Owl, Babies Die From Rat Poison In Safety Harbor Park

A necropsy of the owls confirmed that the owls died after ingesting rodents that had consumed rodenticide, a rat poison that is routinely placed around Safety Harbor restaurants, apartment buildings, businesses and city facilities to control the rat population.

On Friday, the owl lovers, who have been keeping a close eye on the owl family that lives in a tree, nicknamed the "Owl Tree," in Philippe Park, 2525 Philippe Parkway, reported the death of the father owl, Oliver.

The surviving owlet, renamed Daisy from Dewey after owl watchers identified the owlet as female, is too young to feed herself. The owl lovers contacted the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay to rescue the owlet.

After an unsuccessful attempt to trap the owlet on Saturday, the raptor center volunteers are baiting a snare Sunday night in the hopes of capturing the owlet. The nonprofit center in east Hillsborough County rescues, treats and rehabilitates about 1,000 birds and animals each year with the goal of releasing them back into the wild.

In the meantime, the nature lovers have been taking shifts, keeping an eye on the little owl.

"After a day-long vigil beginning at 7 a.m. this morning, and chasing off crows multiple times, at dusk Dewey (Daisy) flew out of the park before the trapper could set up," said Safety Harbor resident Mia Thorpe on the group's Facebook page. "He is scared and hungry. Need to feed and/or trap him ASAP. Every day is crucial. We cannot let him die. Need volunteers to locate Dewey tomorrow and try again. Please respond with which shift you can do so that they all get covered. Thank you for caring."

Safety Harbor residents were heartbroken on March 4 when one of Emily and Oliver's three owlets, Huey, was found dead on the ground beneath the tree.

Three days later, an owl watcher spotted Emily flailing in Tampa Bay. Barbara Walker, a wildlife rescuer with Moccasin Lake Raptor Sanctuary in Clearwater, waded out and retrieved the owl from the waters, but it was too late to save her.

Each December, Emily and Oliver make a nest in the "Owl Tree" where Emily lays eggs and hatches owlets that the parents feed and care for until they are old enough to care for themselves. The owl family usually maintains the nest until March or April.

Safety Harbor nature photographer Fred Brisard has been photographing the owl family for at least seven years.

"We've had as many as 50 photographers gathered at Philippe Park to photograph the owls," he said. "We've watched Oliver and Emily raise 13 owlets in that tree, and we've named each one of them. We've grown to care about these birds deeply."

For the past four years, Linda and Mark Schocken have traveled from their home in Carrollwood to Safety Harbor at least three times a week to watch and photograph the owls.

Mark Schocken, whose photographs of the owl family have received recognition from The Audubon Society, said they've been joined by photographers from around the country who take advantage of the rare opportunity to capture images of a great horned owl family raising owlets in the easily accessible "Owl Tree."

Brisard said this is the second year the owl watchers have witnessed the death of owlets.

He believes rodent poison was responsible for the deaths of three of Emily's owlets hatched in 2021. One died on March 29 and another on April 15. A third owlet went missing on May 24.

"It was devastating. I don't recall any owlets ever dying before March 29, 2021," Brisard said.

Although Philippe Park is owned by Pinellas County, it lies within the Safety Harbor city limits. Following the deaths of Huey and Emily, the owl watchers contacted Safety Harbor City Manager Matt Spoor, who immediately ordered the city to stop using the rodenticide bait boxes to control rats.

"As soon as we heard about it, we removed our 20 traps throughout city facilities," Spoor said.

Unfortunately, the rodenticide is available at any Home Depot or Lowe's, and is routinely used by businesses to control rats, Spoor said.

Since the city doesn't have the legal authority to ban the use of the rodenticide, it's launched a public education campaign to alert residents, restaurants and other businesses of the dangers to the raptor population that feeds on the poisoned rats.

The city is asking business owners and residents to voluntarily cease using the rodenticides and is putting together educational materials about rodenticides to distribute to residents with their monthly water bills. Additionally, the city is forming an ad hoc committee of businesses and environmentalists to discuss alternatives for controlling the rat population.

The problem isn't unique to Safety Harbor.

Patch.com online news sites around the country, including Massachusetts, California, Connecticut and New York, have reported similar incidents.

• Rat Poison Threatens Many MA Birds Of Prey, Experts Say
• What's Killing Hawks, Owls, Ducks And Squirrels In New York City Parks?
• One North Shore Hawk's Survival Story Amid A Distressing Trend
• Save Our Raptors, Don't Use Rodenticide!
• Rat Poison Kills More Than Rats

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most of the rat poisons used today interfere with blood clotting and cause death from excessive bleeding. Deaths typically occur between four days and two weeks after rodents begin to feed on the bait.

The anticoagulant rat poisons available at hardware stores contain brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum or difethialone, or a combination of these chemicals. These are sold under the brand names d-Con, Hot Shot, Generation, Talon and Havoc.

The EPA noted that the pesticides aren't only deadly to rats and their predators, but also are a risk to the family dog, cat and children.

The Audubon Society has launched a national campaign against the use of rodenticides, and is asking people to pledge not to use these products. The society has also asked Home Depot and Lowe's to discontinue sales of the rodenticides but, to date, the major home improvement stores are continuing to sell them.

Instead of using poisons to control rat populations, the Audubon Society and other birds of prey conservation organizations are encouraging the use of barn owl boxes.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said barn owls, the smallest of owls, are the least common species of owl in Florida, although they can be found throughout the state. Mice and rats happen to be their favorite snack.

Unlike the great horned owl, the largest species of owl in Florida with a wingspan of 5 feet and distinctive "horns" on its head, which are actually feathers called plumicorns, the barn owl has a large, white, heart-shaped face and weighs about a pound.

As their name implies, barn owls like to roost in niches they find in barn rafters as well as tree cavities and other enclosed spaces where their offspring are protected from predators. In many states, they make their nests in the crevices of cliffs. Florida's lack of cliffs may be one reason for the state's low population of barn owls.

The Audubon Society says simply constructed wooden barn owl boxes with entry holes just large enough to accommodate the barn owls are ideal for attracting the species.

Residents can learn more about the Safety Harbor campaign to save the great horned owls by visiting the Safety Harbor Strong Owls & Nature Facebook page, which now has more than 1,000 members.