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Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl
Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl | Stacey O'Brien
13 posts | 20 read | 17 to read
On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien adopted Wesley, a baby barn owl with an injured wing who could not have survived in the wild. Over the next nineteen years, O'Brien studied Wesley's strange habits with both a tender heart and a scientist's eye--and provided a mice-only diet that required her to buy the rodents in bulk (28,000 over the owl's lifetime). She watched him turn from a helpless fluff ball into an avid com-municator with whom she developed a language all their own. Eventually he became a gorgeous, gold-and-white macho adult with a heart-shaped face who preened in the mir-ror and objected to visits by any other males to "his" house. O'Brien also brings us inside Caltech's prestigious research community, a kind of scientific Hogwarts where resident owls sometimes flew freely from office to office and eccentric, brilliant scientists were extraordinarily committed to studying and helping animals; all of them were changed by the animals they loved. As O'Brien gets close to Wesley, she makes astonishing discoveries about owl behavior, intelligence, and communication, coining the term "The Way of the Owl" to describe his noble behavior. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening ill-ness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal. Enhanced by wonderful photographs, Wesley the Owl is a thoroughly engaging, heart-warming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty. Translated into eight languages and named an Audubon Magazine Editor's Choice, Wesley the Owl is sure to be cherished by animal lovers everywhere.
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Jenken1998
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Pickpick

NonFiction/ Memoir . Cute and full of heart. A scientist is given a baby owl to raise for life. It is about their life and bond and you learn some about owls also. It found it to be interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes sad. It made me tear up! 4 stars.

53 likes5 stack adds
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sarahljensen
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Mehso-so

If you want to read a book about owl antics, and I do, then this will do nicely. But if you want gorgeous prose about nature, you're going to have to go back to Annie Dillard or Rachel Carson. Also, the anthropomorphism is a bit much at times. I do believe animals have richer cognitive lives than many people think, but this goes a bit far at points.

#litsycats #catsoflitsy

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 😽😽😽 3y
27 likes1 comment
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WanderingBookaneer
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This Great Horned Owlet is for @bookishbitch who said owls were cool. I took a gazillion pictures of it and its parent last Saturday.

Lindy 😍 3y
SamAnne I love Great Horned Owls! 3y
89 likes2 comments
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bookishbitch
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I think owls are cool birds. #tbrpile

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PaperbackPirate
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Pickpick

Although reading the truth about caring for a barn owl in your home dashed my dreams of having my very own Hedwig, this book was very entertaining while sprinkling in lots of cool information about barn owls.
🦉🦉🦉🦉

13 likes1 stack add
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eraderneely
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@Oryx you are absolutely right, I love nonfiction. I also really like owls so this is a perfect fit for me. Thanks so much!

squirrelbrain Look at his little face! ❤️ 🦉 5y
Oryx Wesley is so awesome, I hope you love him as much as I did. 5y
19 likes3 comments
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Erynecki
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Pickpick

I‘m on a roll with animal companion stories. I plowed through this one as I got caught up in Wesley‘s story and all the remarkable details about barn owls! The story: A baby owl is born with a damaged wing, a young woman with experience of working with owls adopts him, and a story of friendship blossoms. It‘s a sweet story and will make you wish humans were kinder and gentler to our furry and feathered friends and their natural habitats.

16 likes2 stack adds
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readswellwithothers
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Pickpick

The story was smart and sweet and educational, and relatable to anyone who has ever referred to themselves as "Mommy" to their pet (guilty as charged!) The narrator was excellent, complete with owl noises. The downside is that, well, SPOILER ALERT: animals do not live forever. I ugly-cried in my car on the way to work during the last ten minutes. Still my favorite read this year, so far. #audiobook

17 likes2 stack adds
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readswellwithothers
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After several fails, I finally NAILED IT for an #audiobook for my commute. You guys: if you love and respect animals in every way, and you're a softie about it, you will love this true story. Not only do I find that I knew NOTHING about owls (they are easily offended, for one thing) but I am soaking up the entertaining and fascinating details of the relationship between the author and this bird of prey. I'm sure I'll cry later, but it's SO GOOD!

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Shemac77
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Pickpick

Read in one sitting. The writing is ok but the story and emotion more than make up for any stiltedness. The relationship between the author and her owl was beautiful to read.

#readeverydayeverywhere

33 likes4 stack adds
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Shemac77
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And the Kleenex will be flowing freely I'm sure.
Evening reading.
#staceyobrien #eveningreading #teaandbooks #readeverydayeverywhere

36 likes3 stack adds