Watch CBS News

A young great horned owl is rescued after falling down 100 feet from its Pittsburgh nest

A great horned owlet was rescued after falling 100 feet from her nest on the Panther Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh.

Sarah Mateskovich found the bird while she was out to take pictures in Schenley Park.

"My friend and I do wildlife photography, and we were out at Schenley Park and we happened to hike up to where we could see the nest," Mateskovich said. 

She said she only saw one owlet in the nest and realized the other had fallen out.

"I knew that there's no way it could get back to the nest to safety, so we had to do something," Mateskovich said. 

Owlet rescued after falling 100' from her nest! Our first youngster of 2025 has been admitted after being discovered...

Posted by Tamarack Wildlife Center on Saturday, March 1, 2025

That's where Carol Holmgren of the Tamarack Wildlife Center joins the story. Holmgren specializes in helping wild birds, especially predatory birds like owls. Holmgren says while the owl's beak is busted up, it's doing well. 

According to the Tamarack Wildlife Center, the goal when dealing with a situation like this is to stabilize the young bird and identify whether or not it has any injuries.

According to the organization, great horned owls are the first birds to nest in the Pittsburgh area, and being that the location of the nest is hazardous, the owlet will not be returned to that location.

Now, Holmgren says, comes the hard part. The organization said it's looking to join her to a wild foster family either as a nestling or at the fledgling stage.

"We do everything we can to get them either back with their original parents or to join them to a wild foster family," Holmgren said. 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue