16 Items to help nocturnal raptors

Brinzal’s advises to encourage conservation

1. Do not waste unnecessarily paper, use recycled paper and recycle the used. Remember that paper is made from trees where often owls live. These actions also carry a huge saving of water and energy.

2. Do not let your cat wander alone out of your home. Often, cats attack small owls.

3. Collaborate with any institution that, as Brinzal, helps the owls. You can partner, sponsor a bird, collaborate economically or lend your time as a volunteer.

4. Do not have a nocturnal raptor as a pet. All species are protected by law and possession is prohibited without a special license. Moreover, they are wild animals that need to live in the wild to be happy. In captivity they live in cages (even if the cage is very large) or with legs tied.

5. If you find a small nocturnal raptor on the ground, do not take it unless it is obviously sick or injured. Usually owls’ chicks leave the nest prematurely and roam around for a few days before flying. Many times they are picked up by well-meaning people who believe they are abandoned or orphaned. When in doubt, or if you think that the animal runs any danger in the area where you found it, contact Brinzal.

6. If you find an owl with problems (wounded, sick, etc.), follow these instructions and contact as soon as possible with Brinzal.

7. Avoid putting barbed wire fences in your garden or property. The owls are common victims of these structures, where they are hooked after colliding with them.

8. Rationalize the speed you are driving, especially at night. So you will decrease the likelihood of running over one of these birds. In addition, this will result in your own safety and will reduce fuel consumption. If still, you run over any specimen, stop and pick it up for delivery in Brinzal or any other recovery center.
9. Do not use chemical rodenticides. The poisoned rodents are easily preyed by owls, who intoxicate in turn. Many owls also fall on sticky mouse traps, being impregnated by a glue that spoils their plumage irreversibly. If necessary, use traditional traps where the mouse has to enter through a hole to fall into the trap.

10. If your home has large windows, sign them somehow (curtains, stickers, etc.) to prevent birds to crash into them.

11. Keep the dead trees in your garden or field, as long as they are not dangerous. Often they are fabulous homes for owls, as well as for other creatures.

12. If you are a hunter, remember that they are very beneficial birds as they feed primarily on insects, rats and mice. Even species that prey on game animals, such as rabbits, favor their presence removing those individuals who are ill or in worse physical condition.

13. Place nest boxes for owls in appropriate places. You can get more information here (falta link??)

14. If you own a field, keep in mind the needs of the owls that can live there, or facilitate their establishment. Each species has different habitat requirements, that you can check here (falta link??)

15. Do not throw trash in the roadside. Rubbish encourages rodents, which in turn attract owls that are often run over on the road.

16. Inform the authorities or any conservationist entity of any fact that seems to hurt the owls, as plundering of nests, electrocutions, traps, etc.