Wayward Snowy Owl Found Stranded on Rikers Island
By this time of year, snowy owls should be munching on lemmings in the Arctic. Instead, one was found on Monday in a courtyard on Rikers Island, on a day when temperatures in New York were well into the 90's. According to the Department of Correction, workers put the wayward bird in a ventilated box and brought it to the Wild Bird Fund in Manhattan. Rita McMahon, the Fund's founder and co-director, says it's a mystery why the migrant is still here.
"Any snowy owl that came down here to hunt, to get more food," she said, "would have left in March to go north to breed."
This juvenile female clearly didn't. She's being treated at the Wild Bird Fund for dehydration, parasites, and a foot infection. She is expected to make a full recovery and will hopefully be released back into the wild.
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