Of the many heart wrenching scenes from the Silverado Fire, one that stood out was a video of a small, white owl being rescued by Orange County fire fighters on Oct. 27. That owl, now officially named “Smokey,” is a male barn owl undergoing recovery at the Orange County Bird of Prey Center in Lake Forest.

In an interview with Irvine Weekly, Peggy Chase, Director of the Orange County Bird of Prey Center gave an update on Smokey’s recovery process, and explained that although he is safe, this little barn owl still has a lot of work ahead of him, before he is re-released into the wild.

“He is stable. Screeching at any one who decides to lift the covering on his cage door – which is a good thing – and we are waiting to get through the critical 30-day marker to determine no skin injuries, and none are apparent,” she said. “Then we can start addressing how to force a molt early and safely.”

Smokey was found on Oct. 27, and thanks to the support of his rescue staff at the OCBPC, Smokey is quite the social media celebrity, with Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages within a few days of his rescue.

While Chase said they do not know how old Smokey is, due to his loss of feathers, it is apparent that he is an adult barn owl. However, Chase added that his loss of feathers is also dangerous to his well-being, because owls use their feathers for thermal insulation.

“We have him in a limited movement enclosure so he doesn’t try to fly and to better able control his temperature,” she said. “Since he has very little thermal regulation – feathers provide a very effective down jacket – We can’t have him live outside.”

For now, Smokey has been improving day-by-day, and has come leaps and bounds from not able to eat on his own for the first week.

“He was very quiet and in shock – that’s why we love his screeching,” she said. “He didn’t eat on his own for the first week so definitely improving.”

Chase explained that the next phase of Smokey’s recovery will require him to eat extremely efficiently in order to bulk up, in preparation for the road ahead.

“Compare the diet of a high energy Olympic athlete to a normal, healthy human,” Chase explained. “He will require a high metabolic diet for a few months as he regrows all his flight feathers. Then he will move into a large flight enclosure, with exposure to the elements to build up stamina and strength. Hopefully, we can release him next summer if all goes as planned.”

The Orange County Bird of Prey Center (OCBPC) is a volunteer organization in Orange County dedicated to treating and rehabilitating injured raptors and returning them to the wild.

“We believe that education is the best long-term solution to prevent and mitigate many of the challenges that raptors face and that raptors play an integral role in the balance of nature,” Chase wrote in an email to Irvine Weekly. “We reintroduce raptors under specific conditions: following state and federal guidelines, respecting current wild raptor population cycles and considering environmental factors.”

Although it seems Smokey will need to miss out on seconds during Thanksgiving this year, he may get an extra nibble from his support team.

“Unfortunately for Smokey, he is on a strict, healthy diet, so no pumpkin pie for him. But he might get an extra mouse to make his caretakers feel a bit better about the holiday,” Chase said.

If you are interested in supporting Smokey’s road to recovery, the OCBPC has set up a GoFundMe page. Currently the page has raised $1,100 of its $5,000 goal.

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