Phantom is a barn owl. She was hatched in captivity on March 28, 2020 and came to the Secret Garden when she was just a few weeks old. Phantom is the only captive bred bird at the Secret Garden. We prefer to give a good home to a wild bird that has been injured and can't be returned to the wild because of a permanent disability. They come to us through local wildlife rehabilitators when they are healthy and we can be sure they will have a good quality of life as Wildlife Ambassadors. But rehabilitators see very few injured barn owls. That's because there are very few in the wild. Barn owl populations have been declining in many regions due to loss of hunting habitat and nesting sites. We wanted to tell the barn owl's story and share information about what all of us can do to support a healthy barn owl population and reverse the decline. But to really reach people, we needed a barn owl. Phantom took the job!

Phantom was just a fluffy little nestling when we got her but quickly grew into a beautiful young barn owl. Her first days with us were spent in a laundry basket nest. When she started to perch on the edge of the basket, we moved her to a play area on the floor with an absolutely perfect hide box from Costco. She's full grown now and living in a spacious 8 x 12 shed built specially for her.

Phantom was raised in captivity and imprinted on humans. That means she can never be released. She simply doesn't know how to be a barn owl. The benefit is that she is very comfortable around people and everything that comes with us - noise, cars, music, dogs. Programs are less stressful for her than for our other birds. 

We think Phantom is female because of the buff color and speckles on her breast. Males tend to be whiter overall. If she ever lays an egg, we'll know we were wrong!​

Sleepy Phantom​

Phantom's Play Area

Phantom All Grown up

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Phantom's Costco Hide Box

Phantom

Phantom's Beautiful Feathers

Baby Phantom