From left to right: Beloit teenager Isaiah Vance, Hoo’s Woods founder Dianne Moller with Aldrich the owl, and Beloit firefighters Dustin Reil and Jessica Flannagan pose for a picture together as they prepare to release the owl back into the wild at Beloit Turner High School.

Aldrich was stuck in a soccer net before two Beloit teenagers found her and went to the Beloit Fire Department for help.

Aldrich the owl spent a week at Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center in Milton where she healed from a mild sprain with the help of the non-profit’s staff.

From left to right: Beloit teenager Isaiah Vance, Hoo’s Woods founder Dianne Moller with Aldrich the owl, and Beloit firefighters Dustin Reil and Jessica Flannagan pose for a picture together as they prepare to release the owl back into the wild at Beloit Turner High School.

Aldrich was stuck in a soccer net before two Beloit teenagers found her and went to the Beloit Fire Department for help.

Aldrich the owl spent a week at Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center in Milton where she healed from a mild sprain with the help of the non-profit’s staff.

BELOIT—Two Beloit teens recently helped save a great horned owl after it was found tangled in a soccer net with help from the Beloit Fire Department and the non-profit Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center.

Teenagers Isaiah Vance and Chris Davis discovered the owl tangled in a soccer net near Aldrich Intermediate School and Telfer Park. 

The students walked to the nearby fire station to get help where they found firefighter Dustin Reil and other firefighters about to eat dinner.

Reil and a few other firefighters went with the two boys to help free the owl. The Beloit Fire Department decided to name the owl after the school where it was found.

“It was so tangled up it couldn’t fight us. Those things have big claws,” Reil said. “We were able to hold the bird still. When she was out we hoped she would fly away, but she couldn’t.”

Two firefighters held the bird while another used a knife to cut the net to get her free. Once she was free, they realized something was wrong with her because she couldn’t jump or fly away.

Reil laughed remembering the incident and remarked how they suddenly realized Vance and Davis had suddenly left after they got the owl out of the net. Reil later found out from Vance’s mother that it was because they didn’t want to be late for their 5 p.m. curfew.

They were able to trap Aldrich and bring her to firefighter Jessica Flanngan who knew where to take the bird to help. Flannagan took Aldrich to bird rehabilitation center Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center in Milton.

Dianne Moller, founder and executive director of Hood Woods, said they took a look a Aldrich and realized the bird had a mild sprain so they kept her at the clinic for about a week on anti-inflammatory drugs, and then after a week they had Aldrich try flying again in their testing area where she did great.

Moller believes Aldrich is most likely part of a breeding pair so it was important to release her in an area where she could find her partner. Moller added that breeding starts in January for owls.

Vance, Flannagan and Reil, along with Moller, were present as they released Aldrich back into the wild next to Beloit Turner High School. Moller said Aldrich knew exactly what to do and was flying fast and high for all to see.

Moller gave Vance and Davis a certificate for their work when they released Aldrich back into the wild, unfortunately Davis couldn’t make it to the release day on Dec. 17.

Moller said an incident like this can be prevented by simply moving the soccer net up a little higher so when birds such as owls are flying around those nets they can fly right under the net and not get caught and tangled up. She hopes that people will start pulling the nets up when soccer season is done or when the nets aren’t in use.

A 12-week-old eaglet who was injured in a fall from its next in Janesville is continuing to recover at Hoo's Woods Raptor Center in Milton.

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