Spotting slithering snakes and curious squirrels is nothing new for line crews at South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G; Columbia, South Carolina). However, stumbling across eggs in a bird's nest nestled in a distribution pole does not happen every day.

In late March 2009, during a routine pole changeout in Barnwell, South Carolina, a line crew noticed an owl fly out of a small nest in a woodpecker cavity in one of the distribution poles scheduled for replacement. When the linemen looked closer, they saw three small white eggs with brown spots.

Concerned about the eggs' survival, one of the linemen retrieved them, wrapped them in a towel and placed them in the cab of the truck to keep them warm. That night, SCE&G serviceman Robert Bowers brought the eggs home with him and kept them warm by placing them on a hot water heater.

A bit of research indicated the coloring of the eggs closely matched that of Eastern Screech Owls. The screech owl is the smallest native owl in South Carolina and measures just 8 inches tall when fully grown. The birds, which are common in North America, are cavity dwellers and often occupy hollows of trees where they can easily hunt insects, reptiles and small mammals like bats and mice.

Finding a Home for the Eggs

After discovering the owl eggs, the linemen tried in vain to find an organization that could take the eggs. Fortunately, the utility had better luck when it contacted The Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, South Carolina. The center is a resource for injured birds and orphaned eggs. The center takes in about 400 birds each year and releases those that become self-sufficient. Because of a long-standing relationship between SCE&G and the center, Director Jim Elliott agreed to take in the eggs.

A SCE&G lineman drove 50 miles to meet a courier from the avian treatment facility. The courier then drove the remaining 50 miles to the location where the birds would hatch.

“Temperature is important when you're incubating eggs,” Elliott said. “In the next day or so, we checked them to see if the eggs were actually viable or not, and they were. And, we left them in the incubator until they hatched.”

Raising Baby Owls

After a few weeks in the center's incubator, the baby owls finally began hatching on April 15, 2009. Because baby owls typically learn their identities by watching their parents deliver food, human contact had to be limited during this process, referred to as imprinting. For that reason, the center's staff placed the baby owls with adult screech owls, or “foster parents.”

“We have nonreleasable adult screech owls that can serve us as foster parents if all the conditions are there,” Elliott said. “They immediately started to take care of these little birds, feed them and treat them as if they were their own.”

After about two-and-a-half months, the determined young owls were self-sufficient and ready to be released.

Setting the Owls Free

Finally, on July 6, 2009, the birds were ready to return to their natural habitat. Choosing the right location for the owls meant finding a place with many hardwood trees. Fortunately, a golf course near The Center for Birds of Prey offered the perfect spot.

“All of us are glad to see the outcome here,” said Lenny Birt, manager of SCE&G's Barnwell crew. “As a company, we're very concerned about the birds and animals that live on or near our infrastructure. But these guys took steps to protect the eggs while we arranged to get them to an appropriate facility. All of their actions were solidly founded in our corporate value of doing the right thing.”

As Elliott once said, most birds' lives are a series of miracles that get them to adulthood. In this instance, SCE&G is proud to have been part of that first miracle — giving these owls a chance to become part of our world. “Over the years, the relationship we've had with SCE&G's field crews and the environmental office there has just been extraordinary. Stories like this one just make us all feel better.”

Everette Livingston (elivingston@scana.com) is a journeyman lineman who has been with South Carolina Electric & Gas for 26 years.

SCE&G PARTNERS WITH AVIAN RESCUE CENTER

Nestled in the small town of Awendaw, South Carolina, about 30 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina, is The Center for Birds of Prey. The center opened a 7,000-sq-ft Avian Medical Center and Oiled Bird Treatment Facility in late 2007. Each year, hundreds of raptors — eagles, falcons, hawks, owls and vultures — with a variety of injuries are treated at the facility. Some have been hit by cars; others have gunshot wounds. Fortunately, only a few suffer electric shock from power lines.

“While we don't see many electric shock injuries, the results are not good when we do,” commented Jim Elliott, executive director of The Center for Birds of Prey.

To help these injured birds, South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G; Columbia, South Carolina) has developed a long-term relationship with The Center for Birds of Prey by helping to sponsor its programs, said Jo Ann Butler, manager of SCE&G corporate contributions. The utility has an emphasis on environmental programs, she said.

While at the medical center, birds complete their treatment and then stay for a recovery period. While in recovery, the birds spend time in a special enclosure where they can exercise and regain their strength.

The avian hospital is much like a human hospital. It has a triage area, two examination and treatment rooms, a surgical suite, a radiology department, a large holding room with a necropsy room (or morgue), an isolation room, and a wash and rinse room for the oiled birds. The recovery enclosures are located a short distance from the hospital. In an octagonal-shaped building, the birds can fly in an open hallway around the perimeter.

In addition to healing sick, injured and orphaned birds, the center is equipped to manage large numbers of oiled birds. A $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources helped to fund the new unassuming facilities that blend naturally into the environment around them. The grant came about as the result of a legal action against a tanker that spilled 24,000 gallons of fuel off the coast of Charleston in 1999. Now, the Oiled Bird Treatment Facility is the only one of its kind on the East Coast.

With a full-time staff of nine, The Center for Birds of Prey relies on more than 80 volunteers who help with the Avian Medical Center, public education efforts and avian research initiatives.

“Every bird has a story, whether it's circumstances that it encountered or some other factor,” Elliott said. “It's our job to learn from each bird, so that we can prevent putting other birds at similar risk in the future.”