03/09/2026
You hit one owl with your car.
You look in the mirror, see a bird on the side of the road, and think, “It was just one owl.”
But somewhere nearby, it may not be just one owl.
That owl could have been a father.
Back in a nest, a mother is sitting over tiny babies, keeping them warm. At this age, they still depend heavily on her body heat. She is waiting for him to return with food.
But tonight, he doesn’t come back.
She waits.
The babies get hungry. She gets hungry.
Eventually, she has no choice. She has to leave the nest and try to hunt for herself.
While she is gone, those tiny babies are left alone.
If they are still too young to regulate their own body temperature, they can become dangerously cold. If she stays away too long trying to find enough food, they weaken. The smallest chicks may not survive.
And even when she does return, one mother now has to do the job of two parents. Hunt enough food for herself, feed an entire brood, protect the nest and keep her babies alive.
So that one owl lying on the side of the road may not represent one life lost.
It could mean a mate waiting for someone who will never return.
It could mean hungry babies calling from a nest.
It could mean an entire little family struggling to survive because one parent never made it home.
This is why slowing down at night matters.
This is why throwing food from your car window matters too. Food attracts rodents to roadsides, and rodents attract hunting owls directly into the path of vehicles.
When you see an owl flying low across the road, remember that it may be carrying dinner home.
Someone may be waiting for it.
One owl is never always just one owl. 🦉
