Photo Contest: Excellent animals catch the eye

Published 7:32 am Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Spring may be the season for baby birds to leave their nests, but the subject of the winning photo in the animal category of our photo contest was clearly more of a football season bird.

Sara Wrather of North Bend captured the image in November, during a Seahawks game, after a baby owl stunned itself flying into her window.

She rushed out to check on the bird, saying “I have cats, so I wanted to get it off the ground.”

The owlet obligingly perched on her finger for a quick photo before flying off again.

“I saw it fly up, so I knew it was fine,” Wrather said.

She didn’t see the baby again, but said “I saw one of its parents a couple days later on a wire at dawn. It was huge.”

Since the bird arrived during a game and is pictured with a Seahawks flag, Wrather named the photo “Hawksome Owlet.”

What to do with baby birds

Now is the time of year that you might find a baby bird out of its nest, but Department of Fish and Wildlife officials advise against interfering with them.

“Our goal has always been, unless absolutely necessary, do not handle juvenile wildlife,” said enforcement officer Chris Moszeter.

Few things fall under the absolutely necessary heading — if the bird is naked (no feathers), injured, or in danger, the DFW website advises keeping it safe and warm and, if possible, returning it to the nest.

For specific information on what to do when you find a baby bird, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/health/rehabilitation/baby_birds.html.

Other excellent animals

Monica Jolley of Carnation took second place for her picturesque Carnation cow and Heidi Bengry, a freshman at Mount Si High School, took third place with her detailed dragonfly photo.

See all of the photo contest entries in our Flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskyBgkD7.