SALT LAKE CITY — It was the smile that said it all: He was free to do what he was born to do. He could fly.

On Feb. 5, a barn owl was found on the ground near a junior high school in Magna. The owl was transported to Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation in Price where his injuries and overall condition were assessed and treated.

The team at Second Chance thought that the owl may have been a victim of secondary poisoning, which happens when predators like owls eat rodents who have ingested rodenticides. After flushing the kidneys and performing blood work, it was found that the barn owl did not have poison, but was likely hit by a car.

After two weeks of treatment and healing, the owl was moved into a 50-foot enclosure where he was flight tested to see if he could hunt on his own. He passed with literal flying colors, and on Feb. 24, just 19 days after the accident, the barn owl was released out into the wild in Eagle Mountain.

According to Shon Reed, who coordinated the release, seeing the barn owl take flight was an experience he won’t soon forget.

"I am the founder of the Eagle Mountain Kestrel Project, and I work toward conservation of our local American Kestrel population," he said. "I am often called to help with other birds like owls, and I was called to pick up the barn owl in Magna when it was injured. Because of that, I was invited to participate in its release in Eagle Mountain."

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Reed, who took many pictures of the release, including the one of the owl "smiling" said that if an owl can be happy, he’s sure this one was.

"In my experience with owls, they are feisty creatures, and this one was no different," Reed said."But this is what you want to look for in a healthy owl who is ready for the wild. So, if people want to look at this picture and say that the owl was smiling, then I would say that the owl was as happy as any owl would be."

While the release went off without a hitch, Reed is concerned about the warmer months ahead and the potential of secondary poisoning happening to owls and other predatory birds.

"With the warmer months ahead, and rodents like voles, gophers and mice coming out, a lot of residents will put rodenticides out to kill them," Reed said."What residents don’t know, is it is having a lasting and deadly effect on our predatory birds."

Reed encourages residents not to use rodenticides, so that wildlife like the smiling barn owl can be preserved. He also says if residents see injured wildlife, to contact the Department of Wildlife Resources or your local wildlife rehabilitation organization to properly take care of the animal.

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