THOMPSON, NY — The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Patrol got a report about an owl that was struck by a motor vehicle on November 30 at the corner of Anawana Lake Road and Fraser Road in the Town of Thompson.

Deputy Sheriff Kyle Geraine went to the scene and found a barred owl standing in the middle of the road. Residents who stopped to lend a hand said the owl may have been chasing breakfast when an SUV passed by. They said the bird may have been hit by the vehicle’s oil pan, which left the owl in a daze.

According to the sheriff’s office, “Deputy Geraine was able to pick up the bird and remove it from the road. The owl was very cooperative and sat perched on the deputy’s hand for the ride back to the office.”

Deputies called the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Conservation Officer Jonathan Walraven transported the barred owl, which is expected to be okay, to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

From the web page www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/barred_owl/overview, “Barred owls are easiest to find when they are active at night—they’re a lot easier to hear than to see. Visit forests near water (big bottomland forest along a river is prime barred owl habitat) and listen carefully, paying attention for the species’ barking ‘Who cooks for you?’ call. At great distance, this can sound like a large dog. During the daytime, a quiet walk through mature forest might reveal a roosting barred owl if you are very lucky.”