Flarestack Osprey

An adult Osprey was admitted after flying over a flarestack resulting in his feathers being singed and rending him grounded and unable to fly. This is not an uncommon occurrence and sometimes birds are not found until several days-weeks after the initial incident. This bird was lucky to be found not too long after the accident and was in relatively decent body condition, though thin. Other birds are grounded for longer periods before they are found. Since the feathers are singed, it takes an extended time in care to replace these damaged feathers. Birds with extensive feather damage need to go through their natural moult cycle to replace their damaged feathers. Other birds with only a few damaged feathers can go through a process called imping where damaged feathers are replaced with donated feathers from another bird (either deceased bird or moulted out feathers). In this case, the osprey was going to be in care for an extended period while waiting for a moult to happen. While in care with us, the Osprey received initial treatment (fluid therapy and nutrition) and then he was transferred to The Owl Foundation for continued care and rehabilitation.