HOPKINTON When a large barred owl struck the windshield of an oncoming car on a snowy Sunday night earlier this month, the quick intervention that followed might have been a matter of life or death, said Dr. Maureen Murray, the veterinarian who treated him when he arrived at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in Grafton that night.
On Tuesday afternoon, 23 days later, that same owl named “Dalen” by the Upton man who rescued him was released back into the wild at Whitehall State Park.
And this time, it was even snowier.
On Jan. 3, Clifford Kistner was driving his truck along Hopkinton Road near the Hopkinton-Upton line when he saw something fly from the woods and strike the car in front of him. After approaching the injured owl, flopping around and flapping its wings, Kistner wrapped the bird up with his jacket and notified a nearby Westborough police officer.
WESTBORO Clifford Kistner was driving on Hopkinton Road on Sunday night when he saw something fly from the woods and get struck by the windshield of a car in front of him.
Kistner, of Upton, said he got out of his truck at the Hopkinton-Upton line when he saw a large barred owl lying on the ground, flopping around as if it was injured.
“Once I got out of my vehicle, it stopped flopping and stood up and just looked at me,” said Kistner, a former Hopkinton Planning Board member. “I wasn’t sure what to do.”
The owl was obviously injured, so Kistner removed his jacket, wrapped it around the large bird of prey and put it in his truck. He then began driving, looking for a police officer who could provide help.