Oregon Public Broadcasting

Two owl chicks hatched in captivity in Bend will be transported to Canada this week.

The breeding owls – the parents – will stay at the High Desert Museum.

The chicks were originally scheduled to leave Monday, but the Canadian government recommended the museum get another permit.

Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

The Northern Spotted Owl parents – Polka and Dot – are the only two spotted owls to hatch chicks successfully in captivity.

Their previous offspring were set loose into wild “foster” nests in southern Oregon.

The two chicks from last year were born early – and so were kept at the museum instead.

Now, they head to the Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Centre in British Columbia.

Eric Forsman is a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service.

Eric Forsman: “They travel pretty well, in fact I took a spotted owl all the way back to D.C. one time, to give a presentation, so I put her on an airplace and flew her back there. Pretty tough birds, in terms of that sort of thing. As longas you put them in a carrying cage and don’t bang them around they are fine. And they are used to being in captivity.”

The breeding center hopes to eventually release the chicks into the Canadian wild, with other young owls.