Phippsburg police chief rescues injured snowy owl

TIMES RECORD • January 17, 2021

Phippsburg Police Chief John Skroski, a self-proclaimed “bird nerd,” received the call of a lifetime Thursday when a good Samaritan reported an injured snowy owl on Route 209. After gently picking up the bird and placing it in a box, he arranged to have it taken to Avian Haven, a wild bird rehabilitation center in Freedom. Diane Winn, executive director of Avian Haven, said the bird was emaciated and injured when it arrived, but she can’t x-ray the owl to determine what might be wrong until it’s stable. Although they breed in the Arctic, snowy owls spend their winters in New England and southeastern Canada.