The great horned owl found hanging upside down in a kite-string tangle in Grand Forks' Lincoln Park March 6 is "on the road to recovery," but still ground bound, said local raptor expert Tim Driscoll.
He led the rescue of the female owl and sent her down March 8, with a student, to the Raptor Center on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota
Though there was obvious damage to the owl's wing, Driscoll said he heard Friday from the center that she did not have any broken bones.
"She is not eating on her own yet, however, they can get food into her," Driscoll told members of the Grand Cities Bird Club Saturday in an email. "In addition, she is agitated and quite aggressive."
Center researchers are calling her "the kite-string owl," he said.
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Once the wing is healed and researchers determine the owl can hunt again, Raptor Center officials will decide when and where to release her, he said.
That likely will include a decision on whether it's an owl from the Canadian woods that moved in temporarily to Grand Forks, or a local owl perhaps nesting in the park, he said.
Driscoll said he's been getting several calls a day from people all over interested in the owl's fate.
Call Lee at (701) 780-1237; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1237; or send email to slee@gfherald.com .
