Barbed Wire Affects Birds Too: Amelia’s Story

By Melissa Hill

Most people don’t expect to see an owl tangled in a barbed-wire fence. In our minds, owls are birds of the forest, hunting mice from the safety of the shadows where we rarely get to see them in action. The reality, however, is that owls inhabit every ecosystem across the globe. They live in deserts, rainforests, backyards, and even grasslands.

Although owls do have amazing eyesight to help them see well in low-light conditions, they rely more on their hearing. So when a Short-eared Owl hunts in the short-grass prairie, they fly low to the ground, sweeping back and forth across a field just feet above their intended targets of mice, voles, reptiles, and smaller birds. To catch the sounds of their prey moving in the grass, they point their specially shaped faces to the ground and watch and listen for movement.

While this hunting technique is great for detecting small animals moving through the grass, it is terrible for avoiding a barbed-wire fence in front of you. An owl’s large wings can quickly catch on the barbs in a manner that makes it impossible for them to free themselves.

This is what happened to “Amelia,” an adult Short-eared Owl that lives at the Draper Museum Raptor Experience in 2016. Amelia was fortunate, though, as a person saw her hanging from a fence near a coal mine outside Gillette, Wyoming. She was untangled and taken to Ironside Bird Rescue in Cody. With damaged tendons and a large gash in the webbing of her wing that would not heal, her wing had to be amputated below the elbow. She would never fly again.

Amelia, a short-eared owl now residing at the Draper Museum Raptor Experience in Cody, WY.

Photo Credit: Rae Ann Garrett

Fortunately for Amelia, she found a second chance and a new purpose at the Draper Museum Raptor Experience. Unable to return to the wild, Amelia now helps staff teach not only the importance of owls in every ecosystem, but also about the dangers these birds face on a daily basis. She inspires guests to think about the impact their actions have on the world around them and help find new ways we can all take care of the planet we share.