'Reunited': New Home For LI Owl Family After Baby Falls From Nest

CUTCHOGUE, NY — An owl family is safe in its new home after the baby fell from its nest on the North Fork recently.

Jackie Roche of The Broken Antler rescue organization in Riverhead said recently, the Cutchogue homeowner reached out to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays. Their staff reached out to The Broken Antler, Roche said.

The baby owl had fallen from a nest that was dangerously close to County Route 48 in Cutchogue, she said.

"Thankfully, the baby owl didn't have any injuries from the fall," Roche said.

Roche and Joe Rocco of The Broken Antler spoke to the homeowner and their neighbor, who both were on board with setting up a new nest between properties, she said.

They were also able to locate the baby owl's parents, she said.

Rocco then set up a new nesting box and three cell cameras, so they could monitor the baby without being so close to the nest, Roche said.

The anxious owl parents never left their baby, Roche said.

"The mama owl watched us from a distance," she said. "We could hear both parents communicating back and forth the whole time."

Roche and Rocco placed the baby back into its new nest, and a few hours later once it got dark, they were able to capture the mama owl coming back and forth to feed her baby, she said.

"It's important that in these situations, if the baby isn't injured, to place it back with the parents as soon as possible," Roche said. "Owls are known for imprinting on humans and once that happens, they are deemed un-releasable."

The whole process of re-nesting takes about two to three hours if the baby is uninjured and can be placed back with the parents, she said.

Also, if a baby owls' parents abandon a nest for whatever reason, that baby can be placed in another owl nest with other babies close in age, and those parents will adopt and care for that baby, Roche said.

While baby owls are adorable, they must be kept outdoors where they belong, Roche said.

"It's important to keep wildlife, wild," she said.

Rocco added that the pair headed to Cutchogue after the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Center handed the call over to them. He said re-nesting the baby safely was a "delicate situation," especially so close to County Road 48.

"Everything worked out perfectly, and Mom came back and has been hanging out with the baby in the box," Rocco said. "Both are quite content — happily reunited."