Update - Mestaae's New Home

We hope you enjoyed reading about our planning for Mestaae the eastern screech-owl's new housing.  We wanted to share another chapter in the ongoing planning. 

As Mestaae settled into his "habitat", we noticed that he was not easily reaching the uppermost perch after he had been down to his bath pan, or engaged in other activities lower in his enclosure.  Our staff and volunteers got to work in creating more perches, at different heights and intervals, to make it easier for him to "travel" vertically.  You can see that we also used different perch surfaces to ensure that his feet stayed healthy. 

We also have constructed a tree "cavity" for him, complete with perch inside.  This is to encourage a very natural behavior for his species, which is to spend time within a cavity either roosting or in the wild, raising young.  It also

Mestaae's new perches,
leading up from the floor of his enclosure.

gives him a choice to be "out of the public", and have some quiet time for himself.  This is very important for his mental, as well as physical, health.

We will continue to share Mestaae's (and our!) adventures in learning.  Our approach to using adaptive management for our education winged ambassadors ensures that they get the best possible care.  

Mestaae's cavity and another perch on "his tree".