Tiny Barred Owl Appearance At UW Turns Heads

SEATTLE, WA — Imagine the surprise when they came across his tiny, gray body plopped there on the sidewalk.

It was around 6:30 a.m. on Friday when someone walking near the Suzzallo and Allen Libraries at the University of Washington saw the barred owl standing (maybe sitting?) next to a row of bollards at the end of Skagit Lane.

Someone called the campus Environmental Health and Safety department, and someone from that department wrapped yellow "caution" tape around the owl. A lot of caution tape. Perhaps too much caution tape for an animal that tops out at about 2-1/2 pounds. EHS also put up a sign kindly asking passersby not to bother the owl.

The caution tape, however, wasn't there for our safety.

"A friendly reminder: The safety of this owl is important, so please keep your distance and do not cross the tape, even for a better photo for the 'gram," the UW News department tweeted Friday morning with a sweet photo of animal napping amid the hubbub.

At around 11 a.m., a wildlife biologist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture arrived. He was wearing red gloves and used what a pasta strainer-looking thing to scoop the owl up. He placed it in a red box and brought it to the PAWS shelter in Lynnwood for a checkup.

The owl, a PAWS vet suspects, flew into a window. He — that's pronoun UW is using — has some bruising and is in "fair" condition.

Barred owls do live in the Pacific Northwest, but they aren't from here. According to Seattle Audubon, the owls are native to the Northeast, and have migrated here only in recent decades. In 2013, the federal government planned to hire hunters to kill barred owls in the Pacific Northwest to protect the endangered northern spotted owl. The barred owls were hogging all the good hunting territory.

Barred owls can be aggressive, but they only tend to dive-bomb people while defending their territory.

There have been no other barred owl attacks or sightings on campus recently, UW spokeswoman Michelle Ma said.