From Montana Wild Wings

It is baby season and we have admitted several different species of raptor babies for various reasons. One of them was a northern pygmy owl from the Lakeside area.

A landscaper rescued it when it was obvious the parents were not tending to it, the nest was not spotted to return it to, and it was not able to fly. It looked so tiny when Beth picked it up - amazing someone saw it and thankfully helped it.

Being a good eater right from the start, it progressed quickly with its growing and flying skills. The first week of July, the down was gone, it passed the tests to get released and it was ready to go back to where it came from.

Leyna did the honors of returning it - it made a quick exit out of the crate and was off living life again in the blink of the eye.

Northern pygmy owls are the smallest owl that lives in Montana. They weigh a little over 2 ounces or for reference about as much as a large egg.

They prefer conifer or deciduous forest edges with adjacent meadows. They hunt at dusk and dawn, but also sometimes during the day mainly using their eyesight to find their prey. Despite their tiny size they often take prey as large as themselves. On the menu there can be songbirds, small mammals, insects and reptiles. If they can't carry it off - they will eat what they want and may stash the rest.

They have "false eyes" called ocelli which are dark patches on the back of the head which are the leading theory is thought to give them some protection from their prey which may fight back.

Thank you observant landscaper for spotting it, Beth for picking it up and Leyna making its journey complete back home.

This is their original photo. It was pretty dark, soni bridges it up a bit for the thumbnail.