Perched in the Effie Yeaw Nature Center's lobby, Sophie the owl has come a long way since being rescued from the grille of a truck in Willits.
A northern saw-whet owl, Sophie is the seventh and latest bird of prey to be cared for at the Carmichael nature center.
The Mendocino County accident this spring rendered the small owl unable to survive in the wild, though the injuries to her head and wing are hard to see.
Her reddish-brown feathers, which have streaks of white, lie smooth and shiny over her 8-inch frame. Her big, golden-colored eyes are piercing.
With the center's new resident, visitors will get a close look at an owl rarely seen in the wild.
"Saw-whets … only come out at night," said Betty Cooper, who's in charge of caring for the center's wildlife. "They are so small, and their markings help them camouflage well."
The saw-whet is the center's fourth owl. The other birds of prey are two hawks and a falcon.
All were injured in ways that render them unable to fend for themselves.
Since birds of prey are wild and migratory, state law prohibits them from being adopted privately. So, the nature center and similar facilities are the only places where such birds can be cared for.
While feeding and keeping the birds healthy, the centers can use them to educate the public on the ways of wild.
"We have a permit from the state Fish and Game Department for each bird – and we have to show we have the ability and the understanding to take care of them properly," said Cooper, an interpretive specialist at the center.
The saw-whet came to the nature center earlier this month from the California Foundation for Birds of Prey in Lincoln, a nonprofit group dedicated to nursing injured birds of prey back to health so that they can be released again in the wild.
Veterinarians treating Sophie after the accident determined it was unlikely she would ever fly again, so they agreed to let the nature center be her new home.
Inside the center, each bird lives in its own enclosure. Some stay in rooms not ordinarily frequented by the public, but Sophie likely will live in the public lobby area, along with Virginia, a great horned owl who has been with center since 1987.
Virginia has only one wing. She was struck by a vehicle near Williams in Colusa County. At age 26, she is, by far, the oldest of the center's birds, Cooper said.
Among the other birds of prey is Luna, a barn owl who has been at the center since 1997. She arrived there from the California Raptor Center at University of California, Davis, another recovery facility.
Luna fell out of her nest when she was 18 days old, and it is believed she has brain damage.
"She has imprinted her first caregiver who was a human," Cooper said. "She thinks she is human or that we are owls."
Luna, who is curious about people, will always depend on them for food, Cooper said.
"But she is territorial about her enclosure," she said.
Such signs are reminders that no matter how accustomed the center's predatory birds become, they can never be domesticated, Cooper said.
"There is always a bit of wilderness in them," she said.
Twilight is the center's fourth owl. A western screech owl found in Placer County, she was mauled by a cat as she was first starting to fly.
"Twilight is personable," Cooper said. "She is accustomed to humans and is very vocal."
Tanner is a red-tailed hawk whose broken bones keep him from flying.
Skye, a red-shouldered hawk, has vision problems.
Rocky is an American kestrel, a small falcon sometimes called a sparrow hawk. He also cannot fly because of disabling injuries.
Each of the birds of prey rotates in as the main feature of the center's weekend programs about raptors.
Twilight will be the featured bird in a program at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Cooper said.
"We talk about each bird – how they hunt their prey, how they eat mice and rats," Cooper said. "It is a great opportunity to see these birds up close, because they usually only come out at nights."
Call The Bee's Ramon Coronado, (916) 321-1013.
