Southland retiree takes injured night birds under her wing

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Gloria Harris has been running a nohinohi little owl and ruru morepork rescue service for 30 years.

"I've probably cared for close to 300 birds," she told Country Life proudly.

Recovering birds are homed in aviaries overlooking a flock of sheep on her 10-hectare farmlet near Invercargill.

When Country Life called in she was about to catch and weigh a little owl that was found in the middle of the road after being hit by a car.

"I took him up to the vet as both eyes were swollen shut, and if you look at him now, you can see one pupil's really huge."

Wrapped carefully in a handkerchief, the bird is weighed on the kitchen scales and checked. At 171 grams, it's a good size for a young adult, but it will be with Harris for a while yet.

She said it's still adjusting to not having binocular vision, making it difficult to catch prey or land.

"There's a bit more green around the eye, so I'm hopeful that he may regain his sight. It's just going to be a time thing."

Her passion for rescuing owls began after seeing one sitting on a power pylon. She was struck by how majestic it looked.

She told a friend who looked after the aviaries at Queen's Park in Invercargill, who said chicks and injured owls are dropped off every now and then.

"I said I'd love to raise one, so she said I'll send the next lot round to you, so she did, and that's where it all started."

The busiest time of the year is in early summer during the hatching season. This is when people often come across owl nests while cleaning up woodpiles.

"They're cavity dwellers, well some put nests in trees, but a lot of them would just find a cavity and that's where they have their chicks."

More often than not, the chicks end up on Harris' doorstep, and once they can master a test flight down her hallway, then they go out to an aviary until they're up to weight.

"Then I pull down this soft release door, and when the owl's ready to go, they'll look at me, they're a bit suspicious, and then they fly away," she said showing Country Life round the aviary.

Harris said there are only three species of owls in Aotearoa New Zealand.

"Officially there's two classes of native owls. You've got the morepork (ruru) and the little owl (ruru nohinohi), we've also got barn owls and apparently there's a bit of a flock of them up in Auckland now."

The majority of the owls that she cares for are little owls.

"I get the occasional morepork, they're absolutely magnificent, but they're quite feisty and these are quieter to work with."

Harris said it's a labour of lovem and when they're well enough to leave it can be a bit emotional.

"I always give them a little blessing before they fly away."

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