This barn owl was one of two siblings found near Kmart in Martell, where they had fallen from their nest. Both were kept at a Tri County Wildlife Care volunteer's home for nearly a month, before ultimately being released. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch

It was a Saturday in June when Susan Manning got an unusual call. Someone from Amador County Animal Control was telling the Feed Barn Country Store co-owner that they had an angry owl inside a large box outside the Kmart in Martell.

So Manning, whose store has an intake area for Tri County Wildlife Care, went to pick up the unusual package, which had "CAUTION - ANGRY OWL" written in bold letters on the side. Inside, Manning found what she described as a "beautiful baby barn owl." When she picked it up, it let out a shriek that prompted warehouse workers to run and see what was happening.

"These owls let out some amazing warning sounds which include the shrieking and hissing and swaying side to side," she said. "Imagine being the Kmart employee who found this owl at the front customer store entrance or Deputy Bob Bowers, who was able to get the owl into the box."

The sibling owls were discovered on the ground after they had fallen from their nest built behind the Kmart sign above the store entrance. Both owls caused some struggle and excitement when they were captured by a sheriff's office deputy and Tri County Wildlife Care volunteers. "They lung their legs at you in an attack effort," said Tri County Wildlife Care volunteer Pat Benik.

While a sheriff's deputy captured the first owl with the large cardboard box, Benik helped capture the second one using welding gloves and "a lot of care," Benik said.

Both owls were kept at Benik's home for about a month, where she fed the uninjured birds until they developed all of their feathers.

"I've always been taking care of animals," Benik said. "I just had a strong desire to get these birds up and running and get them back in the air."

After a few weeks at Benik's house where the owls were kept in a large dog crate, they were transferred to Marty Owen, a veteran raptor rehabilitation specialist with Sierra Wildlife Rescue. Owen reacquainted the birds with outdoor living by putting them in flight cages and feeding them live food to sharpen their hunting skills. The birds were released a few weeks later at the Shenandoah Winery whose owners welcomed the owls to help control their mice population, Benik said.

Currently, owls that require rehabilitation and are found in Amador County are typically transported to the flight cage facilities in El Dorado County. Benik said that by next year Tri County Wildlife Care hopes to complete the construction of their flight cage on her property so they can keep the animals in the county.

Benik said calls about discovered wildlife to wildlife care come in waves. Earlier this week, after about two months of work, the group released a pygmy owl that was previously discovered on Pioneer-Volcano Road.

She recommends that anyone who finds an injured owl or one struggling to fly should call the Tri County Wildlife Care and a qualified volunteer will come out to pick up and rehabilitate the animal. To contact Tri County Wildlife Care, call 547-3233.

Raheem Hosseini contributed to this report