Little owl or tawny owl found on the ground: what to do (and why good intentions aren't enough)

If you've found a little owl, tawny owl or eagle owl on the ground during the day, it's almost certainly in trouble. These are nocturnal animals: they don't come out in the light unless forced to.

The good news is that nocturnal raptors handle transport to a rescue centre well if you manage them correctly. The bad news is that many die in the hours before they get there — not from their injuries, but from how they're kept.

The most common causes

Vehicle collision. Little owls and tawny owls hunt along road edges, where rodents are plentiful. Death from being struck is the number one cause of injured nocturnal raptors in Italy.

Rodenticide poisoning. This is the most underestimated problem. An owl that eats a poisoned mouse accumulates the toxin in its liver and dies in the days that follow. It often arrives at the rescue centre without visible injuries, showing neurological symptoms: convulsions, tremors, inability to fly in a straight line. Treatment exists but has to start quickly.

Chicks fallen from the nest. In spring, especially May–June, finding owlets on the ground is common. Assess the situation before picking them up (see below).

How to tell if it needs help

Intervene if:

• It's on the ground during the day and not moving
• One wing droops or hangs abnormally
• It has visible wounds, blood or torn feathers
• It can't fly even when you try moving away
• Its eyes are half-closed or it doesn't react to light

Watch first if:

• It looks young (soft feathers, still pale beak): it may be a brancher, a juvenile that's recently left the nest. If it's healthy and trying to fly, wait a few hours from a distance — the parents are still feeding it on the ground.

How to pick it up

Nocturnal raptors have powerful talons and use their feet to defend themselves, not their beak. The most common mistake is grabbing the animal's body without protecting your hands.

Use thick gloves — work gloves, oven gloves, ski gloves. If you don't have any, use several layers of towel. Wrap the animal from above, covering the head too, and bring the wings against the body without squeezing. Don't twist it.

Put it straight into a closed, dark cardboard box with ventilation holes. Darkness calms it. Line the bottom with a towel — not newspaper (it slides and causes stress).

Don't give it food or water. Don't put it in a barred cage (feathers break). Don't put it under a heat lamp — raptors dehydrate easily.

The rat poison problem

If you suspect poisoning (animal found without trauma, with tremors or loss of balance), tell the rescue centre this immediately. Treatment for anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning (brodifacoum, difenacoum) is Vitamin K administered over weeks — but it only works if it starts early.

This is also a good moment to note: second-generation rodenticides are banned from outdoor use in many contexts precisely because they kill the wildlife that eats rodents. Little owls, tawny owls, buzzards and kestrels are the natural mouse-control system — poisoning them is counterproductive as well as illegal in sensitive environments.

Legal protection

All Italian little owls, tawny owls and eagle owls are strictly protected under the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and Law 157/1992. They cannot be kept, sold or transferred without authorisation. A nest cannot be removed — not even from a loft or a chimney. If you have an active nest in your home, contact a rescue centre before doing any building work.