Gift of flight: grounded Hong Kong owl flies again after being given ‘glued-on’ feathers in meticulous two-year rehab effort

Giant male Eurasian Eagle Owl flies above the city once again after it was grounded following the loss of the bulk of its flying feathers

Painstaking work over two years by experts using pegs and glue to grow new feathers gives bird a new lease of flying life

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An owl has been released into the wild in Hong Kong two years after it was grounded due to the fact that it lost most of its flight feathers. Experts helped it grow new plumage in two-year process of rehabilitation. Photo: SCMP composite

Published: 12:00pm, 11 Feb 2023Updated: 12:21pm, 11 Feb 2023

When a large owl with distinctive deep orange eyes and an impressive two-metre wingspan was released into the wild last month, rescuers at a Hong Kong conservation centre could not help but feel emotional.

The male Eurasian Eagle, the world’s largest species of owl, which can grow up to 75cm tall and is one of nine species native to Hong Kong, had spent almost two years recovering at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) in Tai Po.

Discovered in June 2021 with most of its flight feathers missing — X-rays also revealed a fractured shoulder bone — the owl, which is also called a Bubo bubo, because of the booming “bu-oh-oh” sound they make, needed time to recover and regrow vital plumage.

It also needed some new feathers, so KFBG came to the rescue.

In June 2021, an adult male Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) was discovered on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island. The species is Hong Kong’s largest and most formidable owl. Photo: Charlie Peat

In December 2022, the centre’s senior veterinarian, Alex Grioni, carried out imping treatment, a method of repairing damaged feathers by joining a donor feather to the shaft of a broken feather using a dowel and glue.