Notebook Support Technician Jo Martinson is well known for her volunteer work at the Raptor Center.  This morning, she got the opportunity to use those skills at St. Paul Academy and Summit School when maintenance staff found a horned owl entrapped in a soccer net.

The owl was found by a maintenance staff member on his morning rounds of the grounds.  The staff member called Facility and Safety Manager Pete Kilbarda, who in turn contacted Martinson.  The trio worked together to cut the owl free.  “He was tangled up around his legs in numerous ways, around his wings, around his head… yeah, he was in there pretty good,” Martinson said.

Martinson is unsure about how exactly the owl came to be caught in the net.  “It’s hard to say for sure,” she said, “but it almost looks like he was going for something on the ground, maybe on the other side of the net.”  The bird didn’t appear to be hurt, but has been taken to the Raptor Center for a closer examination.