Twig

It is with a heavy heart that my sad duty today is to tell you that Twig, our grey phase Eastern Screech Owl, has passed away due to the infirmities of old age

Twig was one of the World Bird Sanctuary’s elder statesmen, having come to us as a young orphaned chick in 1993.  He was unreleasable because he had no fear of humans, so he became a vital part of our organization—first at WBS’s educational bird shows presented at zoos, and then as a member of our Education Department.

Twig was definitely the “Aaawww!” factor in our education programs.  Many of the other birds in our programs were bigger, could amaze the audience with their flying abilities, or were more colorful—but invariably, Twig’s appearance would be the show stopper while presenters waited for the chorus of “Aaawww’s” and ”….isn’t he cute!” comments to die down. 

Twig was definitely the "Aaaww!" factor in any program (photo by Gay Schroer)

In his almost twenty-one year career here at the World Bird Sanctuary, Twig helped to educate literally millions of audience members about the environment, his species, and owls in general. Twig was the first bird of prey that many new interns and volunteers had on their glove—a lifetime memory for many.  In the wild, Screech Owls are lucky to live to 5 years old, so making it to virtually 21 is an accomplishment to all who cared for him over so many years.

Because advancing old age had taken a toll on him, Twig was retired several years ago. He has spent his latter years on public display in our Office of Wildlife Learning Nature Center, where he enjoyed living quarters that were heated in the winter and cooled in the summer, and where he was admired by visitors and catered to by staff, interns and volunteers.

Twig will be sorely missed.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer