Quarry workers fund owl rescue

A partially tame Eurasian owl used to be a common site at Tarmac’s Stowfield quarry in Gloucestershire, UK so when the bird was shot, the workers searched for the bird and then funded a life-saving operation.
March 6, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Owl at Tarmac Stowfield Quarry
The owl at Tarmacs Stowfield Quarry

A partially tame Eurasian owl used to be a common site at 868 Tarmac’s Stowfield quarry in Gloucestershire, UK so when the bird was shot, the workers searched for the bird and then funded a life-saving operation.

“It used to come into the control cabin and bring the guys ‘presents’ of rats and rabbits it caught,” explained Tarmac district manager Jay Deakins.

The site team saw the bird shot from the air and thought the worst when it couldn’t be found. However, it was spotted three days later and taken to the International Centre for Birds of Prey at Newent, Gloucestershire where vets operated on the owl’s broken wing.

Now recovering, the owl will stay at the Bird of Prey Centre where it is becoming a popular attraction.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

March 9, 2012

Heidelberg protects wildlife near quarry

Quarries offer huge potential to increase the biodiversity of an area. Claire Symes looks at a project implemented by Heidelberg Cement to protect the sand martin.

March 27, 2012

Quarries: 'home of choice' for birds of prey

Quarry sites are great places for birds of prey particularly buzzards and kestrels, a new RSPB study has shown. Teaming up with Cemex UK, building materials supplier, the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] surveyed 70 of the company’s quarry managers about the birds of prey seen on their sites. Buzzards and kestrels remain in the top two spots and are reported at over a third of sites.

boombox1

Highlighted Content

boombox2