This morning before church, I took the dogs on a walk around Hendrickson High School. When we got back near the athletics facilities, I spotted a large owl trapped inside one of the baseball batting cages.
Each cage consists of a steel frame holding up a big ‘box’ of synthetic net. Apparently, the owl had landed on the ground outside the cage and gotten inside it under the edge of the net. But it wasn’t able to find its way back out.
I lifted up the net on one side and propped it open, hoping the owl would find its way out. But due to the owl’s very sharp talons and beak, I was reluctant to try to coax it towards the opening I’d made. And the presence of the very excited dogs further complicated the situation.
Then we walked home and I reported the problem to the county animal control. But the kids wanted to see the owl, so we hopped in the van and drove over there.
When we got there, I noticed another big frame of the net material inside the cage. So, I picked it up and walked toward the owl with the frame between me and the owl who at this point was hanging from the net roof. At the first attempt to coax the owl toward the opening, it just flew a few feet and hung from the net again. I advanced and again tried to coax it to fly. This time the owl flew right out the opening and flew off toward the nearby corn fields. I did it!