AVON, CT — Avon Animal Control Officer Angela Grano Tuesday was just on patrol when she spotted something in the road.
And that’s when a “tiny miracle” happened, in her words.
Cowering in the middle of the roadway somewhere in rural Avon was a tiny owl, with cars racing right over him and jeopardizing the bird’s safety, according to Grano.
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Showing her job is more than just finding lost dogs and cats or warning folks about bears, Grano pulled over and carefully saved the small owl.
According to the Town of Avon Animal Control Facebook page, the owl is currently recuperating at Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, dubbed by Grano as “our allies of the wild.”
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The nature center is home to several raptors and rehabs raptors found in the wild injured or lost.
The owl cradled by Grano in the photos appears to be a northern saw-whet owl, which is the smallest species found in Connecticut, according to the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport.
Reached by Patch Wednesday, Grano confirmed the species and speculated the owl may have come into contact with a vehicle and been stunned and/or injured.
“I found him in the middle of the road,” she said.”He looked like a little gray clump of snow, but something told me to pull back and check and, lo and behold, it was a saw-whet adult owl.”
Grano, a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator with the State of Connecticut, said the saw-whet owl is “one of the tiniest species known in Connecticut and their numbers are dwindling.”
According to Grano, her job has her dealing with wildlife as much as domestic pets, with bobcats, bears, coyotes, all sorts of birds, and other creatures crossing her path while working.
Grano said her frequent encounters with Connecticut’s wild creatures have inspired her to preach awareness not only of these animals but of measures folks can take to keep them safe.
For example, she said, rodenticides used to kill pests can also end up harming wild creatures the poison isn’t intended for.
Grano said, as a result, her department does not use rodenticides at the local dog pound to control rodents.
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Rather, she said, she utilizes “rodent birth control” methods to ensure they can’t breed.
As for flying creatures like bats and birds, Grano said she often has to retrieve owls, woodpeckers, and bats that fall through people’s uncapped chimneys, another thing residents should be wary of.
“It’s very important that the citizens of Avon and beyond understand that every chimney needs a professional cap on it. Even squirrels fall through. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve shown up to people’s homes to trap an animal that has fallen down the chimney,” said Grano. “Let’s save that for Santa Claus.”
For more information on owl species in Connecticut, click on this link.
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