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Owls in Towels
- josh-sematic 1y agoI love this. The web used to be a place filled to the brim with people making sites about stuff dedicated to some niche thing that brought them joy. Glad to see that vibe still survives out there. Edit: to be clear, this site is connected with an organization and probably exists to help promote it, but it still gives that “look, this is cool!” passion to me.
- lolinder 1y agoIs it connected with an organization? I don't see any evidence of that in the About page or anywhere else. The donations page says to find a local wildlife sanctuary and donate to that, then links out to two options if you really can't find one of your own. But I see no evidence that it's associated with either one of those entities it links to. https://owlsintowels.org/support/donate/ https://owlsintowels.org/support/donate/
- josh-sematic 1y agoGood catch! I saw the “donate” link and assumed whoever made the site was using it for funding. All the better!
- aaron695 1y ago[dead]
- roughly 1y agoThis is a delight! This site is a great reminder that almost everyone visiting Hacker News has a set of skills which can be put to beneficial use for causes you care about - this is a small, simple, cheap site (and I mean that in a good way!) that attracts attention, awareness, and donations to something the author cares about. It’s easy for us, but it’s magic for most people. Don’t let your tech industry imposter syndrome fool you - we can do valuable things to forward causes we care about. Also, it’s adorable!
- imposterr 1y agoI've stopped using the word "cheap" to describe situations like this as the word has too many negative connotations. I tend towards "inexpensive", "cost-effective", or "low-cost". I find it better describes my intent to describe something as not costing much but not speaking to poor quality which I feel like the word "cheap" has come to imply.
- diarheadave 1y ago[dead]
- novosel 1y agoFrugal?
- wierd-eye-loser 1y ago[dead]
- gsck 1y agoTheres a phrase in the UK that is "Cheap and cheerful" which I think is perfectly apt for this
- specproc 1y agoI think "cheap" sounds worse in American.
- fuzzfactor 1y agoI would say "low-cost, high-impact" when that makes more sense. In this case it's more like low-cost high-delight which does sound a bit better than "cheap thrills" ;) The owls do seem to convey a sense of communal grumpiness, expressed individually :) Not unlike HN at tines . . .
- jxf 1y agoThis is a beautiful demonstration of how technology can be simple and powerful for amplifying a message at the same time -- no matter the silliness or seriousness of the message. Very "Old Web" vibes. Anyone who's worked on random enterprise CRUD REST apps earlier in their career (myself included) knows the pain of wishing that you were doing something a little more helpful or positive for humanity.
- kristopolous 1y agoThe consistency in the quality and sharpness of the photos isn't lost on me. There's obviously lots of curation in this collections, must be some work!
- yflin 1y agocute
- pierrec 1y agoThat's something I've done a few times! Mostly from having lived in a wildlife shelter (LPO Ile Grande) for 2 months, since they have quarters for volunteers who wish to stay. Out of all the birds that collide and are unable to fly, you'd be surprised at how many recover, and I mean it's not as grim as some people make it out to be. That shelter was especially interesting because it's near the nesting grounds of marine birds that are relatively rare in France or even Europe overall. Cargo ships in the English channel illegally dump oil waste all the time, and the oiled marine birds just float helplessly to the beach, still alive. People pick them up and bring them to the shelter where we literally hand-wash them with soap and put them in a bird drying station. The numbers could get overwhelming and we would have to make "bird washing assembly lines" on occasion. It's a whole discipline with specialized equipment, passed-down knowledge and passionate people!
- bitwize 1y agoOne brand of American dish soap, Dawn, has a duckling as a mascot, and has for some years advertised its grease-cutting capability (and gentleness on living things) by showing that it is used to clean oil off waterfowl who have been caught in a slick.
- f4c39012 1y agoOne brand of UK dish soap, Fairy Liquid, bears the label "H412 - Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects"
- thyristan 1y agohttps://www.newhall.co.uk/media/7440_msds.pdf https://www.newhall.co.uk/media/7440_msds.pdf The H412 comes from sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) which is contained (in large amounts, like 20 to 70% by weight) in practically every kind of liquid soapy detergent, shampoo, liquid hand soap and what not. The only reason you know of that one product is that they seem to sell to professionals as well, which is why they need a material safety data sheet. Your shampoo doesn't need that, so you just don't know that it is just as harmful. Edit: Dawn seems to contain it as well, look for CAS# 68585-34-2: https://msdsdigital.com/system/files/Dawn_Professional_Dish_Detergent_0.pdf https://msdsdigital.com/system/files/Dawn_Professional_Dish_... The missing H- and S-numbers in that datasheet come from the differing standards and maybe the different concentrations.
- cogogo 1y agoSuch amazing animals. Everytime I see one I am so thrilled. Saw a snowy owl this winter and they are so gorgeous. Also really weird how easy it is to anthropomorphize an owl. They generally look very surprised or very angry. Love it.
- ttoinou 1y agoDo you think this kind of internet nuggets will still exist in our soon to be post-AI world ? We won't be able to know who sent a real vs. a fake picture
- abstractbill 1y agoHonestly my first reaction to seeing these photos was to wonder if they were AI-generated (I'm not suggesting they are, I just have that response quite often now).
- rajnathani 1y agoExact same, my first reaction to the photos were to think they are AI-generated (which amazingly, they aren't).
- idamantium 1y agoI actually didn't think that at all, maybe because the opening text was so straight forward, earnest, and pragmatic?
- fuzzfactor 1y agoAppearances can be deceiving :\ That in itself is something that AI can leverage, maybe not better-than-average, but way more often, so people have to be on their toes a lot more too. Whether it's images or not. Interestingly, with images like this they are highly curated for cuteness, clarity, and composition. If nothing else because there are so many photos taken of each owl during the rescue process, across a large number of photo opportunities. So there is often quite a huge variety of material from which to choose one outstanding example for each owl. This would then make an optimized training set if you wanted to generate realistic facsimiles digitally later on. When you do the math though, "who" needs a digital facsimile when the vast majority of actual real-world material is far in excess and not being used at all?
- GreenWatermelon 1y ago
- tharakam 1y agoI expected something Semantic Web-related. https://www.w3.org/OWL/ https://www.w3.org/OWL/
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- fallinghawks 1y agoNow do Hawks in Socks! (Nylon stockings are commonly used when transporting a wild bird for an hour or two).
- pfdietz 1y agoI went to a presentation on the reintroduction of the bald eagle to New York state. When handling young eagles, the presenter (then much younger) found the best way to immobilize them was stuff them into the leg of her pants (not when she was wearing the pants, mind you.) She had to constantly do this as they fledged, since they couldn't get back up to the platform where the nest was. In the wild, the parents would continue to feed the young after they left the nest but before they could fly, but that wasn't practical for her to do. The process of raising raptors from eggs is called "hacking", so it's entirely appropriate for this site. Normally done on hawks, this project showed it would work with eagles too. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hack#dictionary-entry-6 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hack#dictionary-e...
- fallinghawks 1y agoThe Cooper's hawk is known to falconers and rehabbers as fitting perfectly inside a (clean) Pringles can. ;) I must correct you on hacking, though. This process starts with just-fledged raptors, already grown to full size, fully feathered, but raised in closed quarters. They are put in a shelter surrounded by plenty of space for flying where they can see the outdoors, and they are fed daily for a few days to acclimate. Then the shelter is opened and they're allowed to explore. Food continues to be provided daily. The day that one of the birds doesn't come back for its daily feeding indicates it has caught something on its own, and is ready to be recaptured and trained as a falconry bird. This process allows the birds to learn flying and hunting as if they were wild raptors. It reduces certain negative behaviors you get in human-imprinted birds, and gives them "street smarts" i.e. recognizing and avoiding other predators. These days of course we put telemetry tags on them so they're easy to locate and recover. As metaphor it would be training to deal with the wide wild world, which HN has a bit of too.
- 1y ago
- deadbabe 1y agoIt’s cool but I’m wondering why isn’t this an Instagram page or something. I’d follow this.
- hungmung 1y agoI've had to do this several times, it's really the best way to handle birds and bats that get into your home -- just toss the towel on top of it and pick it up. Another trick if a bird flies into your window and stuns itself, you can pick it up with a towel and place it in a (closed) cardboard box outside in the shade so they can recover without a ton of sensory input/stressors, you just have to make sure predators don't get into it. (If you ever have to relocate a bat, don't just leave them on the ground, they can't take off from there and will almost certainly die. Put them in a tree or somewhere higher up)
- indoorcat 1y agoAs a PSA: if you’re in North America, do not handle bats. They are the primary rabies vector and due to their tiny sharp teeth, it is possible to be bitten unknowingly. Rabies is (almost) 100% fatal once you have symptoms. Leave it to the professionals who are vaccinated and know how to handle them safely. In the US, local animal control can usually help.
- simpaticoder 1y agoIf only owls in towels needed something to bite on, like dowels.
- julianz 1y agoThey could perch on the dowels once dry...
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- simpaticoder 1y agoNo, they perch on trowels.
- D-Coder 1y agoYou're thinking of fowls.
- masnick 1y agoThe footer lol > 2022-2025 Owl Rights Reserved
- sentrysapper 1y agothis site is a hoot
- Caelus9 1y agoSuch cute owls! Do they need to be wrapped in a towel because it gives them a sense of security? Just like babies, they sleep better when wrapped up tightly. Rescuing small animals is such a meaningful thing to do.
- pavon 1y agoBurritoing a bird is a safe and relatively easy way to restrain it while handling it. It can't flap its wings to fly away, it can't claw you with its talons, and it is far less likely to hurt itself resisting. And yes, they do appear to be more calm, or at least more resigned to the situation.
- susam 1y agoAs delightful as the home page is, the FAQ page is endearingly whimsical: https://owlsintowels.org/about/ https://owlsintowels.org/about/
- bitwize 1y agoIt reminds me of how people make a "purrito" by wrapping a cat in a towel or small blanket in order to safely handle the cat (administer pills, injections, etc.). And since owls are pretty much just the bird versions of cats, it's fitting.
- throw310822 1y agoIndeed. Cats and owls are a fantastic example of convergent evolution: two species on pretty far vertebrates branches that occupy a similar niche (ambush night predators, small preys) and end up with the same physical appearance- colors, head and eyes shape, even the outer ears shape!
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y agoReminds me of this classic. How to Give A Cat a Pill: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC372253/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC372253/
- fankt 1y agoIn Chinese, owls are called 「貓頭鷹」, which literally means "a hawk with a cat’s head".
- 0xDEAFBEAD 1y agoI wonder how a mouse would feel about this website.
- tonyedgecombe 1y agoMice don’t use the internet, too many cats.
- sandruso 1y agoThis is why I love internet. I've never knew I needed this. Thanks :)
- DidYaWipe 1y agoOwls are actually hooting outside my door as I pull this up at 12:30 a.m.
- bandedetrappes 1y agoThis is such a missed opportunity to name the site "BurritOwls" !
- lippihom 1y agoLove it.
- youareabitch 1y ago[flagged]
- rob74 1y agoCute! But they should add a feature so you can use the images via an API, similar to PlaceKitten (which seems to be defunct now).
- tarkin2 1y agoThe sober spiritual successor to https://www.tumblr.com/hungoverowls https://www.tumblr.com/hungoverowls I assume
- vldr 1y agoI wonder what's next... owls with runny bowels?
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- fuzzfactor 1y agoAs they say in Texas, that'd be "slicker'n owl shit". Although in this case it's technically neck-and-neck :)
- vitorfrois 1y agoUnexpected hahah so cute
- fitsumbelay 1y agoThis is making my day. Gracias, OP. Muchas gracias.
- uneekname 1y agoI'm not seeing the link on this page, but I believe this popular fediverse account[0] is run by the same folks [0] https://earthstream.social/@owlsintowels https://earthstream.social/@owlsintowels
- jwilk 1y agoYup. It's linked from https://owlsintowels.org/about/ https://owlsintowels.org/about/ (search for "More ways to get yer fix").
- rcastellotti 1y agoadd this to your <SHELL>rc for the best experience https://paste.sr.ht/~rcastellotti/6fd79ed622e1c426be35f3f038b0fde9667dcce9 https://paste.sr.ht/~rcastellotti/6fd79ed622e1c426be35f3f038...
- lenerdenator 1y agoIt's like a cat in a purrito. Owls are like the cats of the bird world. It's too bad they don't get to talk. I think they'd have a lot to talk about... night time hunting, the size of mice and other rodentia, hairballs/pellets...
- rekabis 1y ago“Would you like a moist owlette?”
- ColinWright 1y agoGoing to this page: https://owlsintowels.org/gallery/ https://owlsintowels.org/gallery/ Finishes with: "That's owl the posts" Yes, this is the internet/web I needed today.
- shellerik 1y ago"Owl rights reserved"
- stefanka 1y agoOne mentioned glue traps. What’s that and why is it used? Sounds like a horrible way to catch birds.
- reaperducer 1y agoOne mentioned glue traps. What’s that and why is it used? Glue traps are used to catch mice and rats. The owl sees its prey struggling in the trap, and tries to eat it. Many birds of prey die due to eating poisoned rats and mice. Most famously, Flaco, who escaped from the Central Park zoo and entertained New Yorkers for months before eating a poisoned rat.
- ayrtondesozzla 1y ago> A+ FACILITIES WOULD STAY AGAIN Ok ok, you got me! Delightful!
- ayrtondesozzla 1y agoQuestion - what is the lowest cost way to do something like this? Imagine one was prepared to go in whatever direction, regardless of difficulty. Can the pros weigh in here?
- mortenjorck 1y agoThis is the kind of project that always used to be its own website, but these days largely exists only on a social media platform where it's stuffed between other content and the usual barrage of ads. Which is a roundabout way of saying: I love that this is a website.
- fuzzfactor 1y agoEspecially when you consider that places like Facebook or Linkedin are not even a website any more, once their web address takes you nowhere and they are useless without "signing in".
- OrangeMusic 1y agoThey seem surprised
- iainctduncan 1y agoPSA: Many (I mean many) bird injuries are from window strikes, including in this adorable list. These are often fatal even if the bird appears to fly away. My partner is a bird biologist and does work specifically on this area. Unfortunately, fancy modern glass buildings (including that which is in style at universities and other techy campusus) are brutal for this, because the birds can see through the building and think they can also go through. This is not minor, it is actually an existential threat to some species in some urban areas. There are some very effective and cheap solutions if you have a window birds are hitting. Wavy lines on the window with a bar of soap work well. Even better are strings hanging in vertical lines outside the window. Believe it or not, your brain gets used to these and you stop noticing them very quickly. They cut down on bird fatalities a TON. Example: https://www.birdsavers.com/ https://www.birdsavers.com/