{"id":43971,"date":"2016-12-17T06:02:28","date_gmt":"2016-12-17T13:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=43971"},"modified":"2025-06-15T15:41:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T20:41:00","slug":"meet-galileo-the-short-eared-owl-who-soon-graduates-to-education-bird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/17\/meet-galileo-the-short-eared-owl-who-soon-graduates-to-education-bird\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Galileo – The Short-eared Owl Who Soon Graduates to Education Bird"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GalileoGalileo at Hawkwatch – \u00a9Nancy Blech Matro, used with permission<\/p>\n

Nancy Blech Matro, outgoing Hawkwatch International Board Chair, contacted me yesterday to share news with me about Galileo the Short-eared Owl I had a small part in rescuing<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

On June 19th of this year a young Short-eared Owl’s life changed when he became entangled on a barbed wire fence. Myself and Ron Dudley got him off of the fence and rushed him to meet up with Mike Shaw who works with Hawkwatch International<\/span><\/a>. From there the fledgling Short-eared Owl was transferred to Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah<\/span><\/a> (WRCNU) where he spent several months recovering before moving back to Hawkwatch International to become an an education bird and bird of prey ambassador.<\/p>\n

Nancy attended her last board meeting at Hawkwatch on Wednesday and the staff there brought Galileo out to meet her. She took this image of Galileo and shared it with me and I was delighted to see how much he had grown since I last held him. Nancy also told me that Galileo is almost ready to be an education bird. I love the name they picked for him!<\/p>\n

I’m so happy that Galileo will be at Hawkwatch and that I will be able to go and see the Short-eared Owl that many wonderful people helped to rescue, rehabilitate and train. Although it made me sad that he could not be released I know that he is going to be a great ambassador to the public about birds of prey and specifically Short-eared Owls.<\/p>\n

My thanks to Nancy for sharing this news with me. I hope to see Galileo again in person soon.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult male Short-eared Owl staring at me – Nikon D810, f9, 1\/800, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I included this image because very soon this is how Galileo will look when he is fully mature. Short-eared Owls are such handsome birds.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Even when the world seems to be in utter chaos there are good people doing good. I believe we need to remember and celebrate that fact.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Short-eared Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nancy Blech Matro, outgoing Hawkwatch International Board Chair, contacted me yesterday to share news with me about Galileo the Short-eared Owl I had a small part in rescuing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,130,26],"tags":[4114,2663,5234,5560,5559,5561,5205,3967,294,5231,3971],"class_list":["post-43971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-short-eared-owls","category-utah","tag-asio-flammeus","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-education-bird","tag-educational","tag-galileo","tag-hawkwatch","tag-hawkwatch-international","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-rescue","tag-short-eared-owl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/galileo-thumbnail-hawkwatch.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-brd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44327,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/12\/a-visit-with-galileo-the-short-eared-owl-at-hawkwatch-international\/","url_meta":{"origin":43971,"position":0},"title":"My Visit with Galileo the Short-eared Owl at HawkWatch International","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Galileo will be an education bird at HawkWatch International and he will help show people, young and old, in class rooms and community centers the importance of having owls and other raptors in our environment.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of Galileo - HawkWatch International's newest education bird (C), Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/galileo-mia-mcpherson-5949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/galileo-mia-mcpherson-5949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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can now give another update on the Short-eared Owl, he will be going to Hawkwatch International in October to be used as an educational bird!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Short-eared Owl in adult plumage, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9367.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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