Bath firefighters rescue great horned owl trapped at landfill

Bath firefighters and a state wildlife biologist freed a great horned owl from mesh fencing at the city landfill after employees spotted the bird tangled in the netting and called for help. The rescue happened Monday, June 29, in Bath.

Firefighters from Bath Fire & Rescue worked with a biologist from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to get the owl loose without injuring it. Once freed, the bird paused for a few moments to recover and then flew back into the wild.

The City of Bath Division of Solid Waste and Recycling manages the Bath Landfill and curbside trash and recycling service, and the landfill is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bath residents and property owners may be asked to show photo ID and proof of residency or property ownership to enter.

Bath Fire & Rescue operates around the clock with 24 full-time firefighters and responds not only to fires and medical calls, but also to assistance requests from local agencies. Landfill employees noticed the owl in trouble before the situation worsened.

Great horned owls are found statewide in Maine and can live in forests, swamps, fields and suburban neighborhoods. They are Maine’s earliest-nesting owls, with pairs forming from mid-January to mid-March, and females typically lay one to three eggs that incubate for 28 to 35 days. The birds are powerful hunters, standing about 1.5 to 2 feet tall with a wingspan of 3 to 5 feet.

A peer-reviewed study on bird use of landfills found that these sites can provide seasonally reliable food sources and attract many bird species.