Gloria Harris has been caring for injured moreporks and little owls for over 30 years — right in her backyard.
A former Department of Conservation employee, her journey began when she spotted an owl for the first time, sitting on the powerlines at her semi-rural property.
After befriending the Queens Park aviary keeper at the time, she was given an injured owl and coached on how to care for it.
Since then, she had nursed and released over 300 of the species on her own.
"I’ve never had a fail with a chick.
"But if it’s been caught by a cat or a dog, you can only ever deal with what you’re presented with."
Well-known in the Southland community for her expertise, she quickly became the go-to person when a lost or hurt owl was found.
Once the owls arrived, they were put into a cat carry-box until they were big enough to live in the aviary, sited in the garden.
They were all hand-fed, their diets consisting of moths, huhu grubs, mice and an array of different bugs.
"I’m often up at 1am catching the moths.
"I can’t bring myself to touch the huhu grubs. I use these big long tweezers to pick them up."
As for the bigger owls, they were taught to forage for the food to prepare them for release.
Despite her love for the birds, it was getting harder to take care of them as her life got increasingly busier.
Although she was not ready to give it up, she was open to taking on keen bird handlers for back-up.
