A $500 reward offered for info on disturbance to baby owls

UPDATE 04/07/17 10:40 p.m.: “We call them Chicle, Churro, Sugar, Chimi, Changa.” These are the nicknames Kim Solano gave her “pest controllers”. Her Moss Landing restaurant Haute Enchilada is the first one in the country to employ owls to keep bugs away. But, these owls ended up doing more than that.

“I watch them before I go to bed tonight, if I can’t sleep, I turn it on to watch them,” Solano said.

They have a YouTube channel that runs 24-hours a day, giving dozens of viewers a glimpse of wildlife.

“To be able to sit there and enjoy a meal or a drink and to watch the owls in their environment was really, really special,” restaurant customer Michelle Silva said.

And thanks to those cameras, they captured a man in a white hat poking the owls’ nest with a 10-foot pole Thursday night.

“All in in unison, (they) backed up, just started to (make noises),” Solano said.

“That we can’t have,” said Rebecca Dmytryk with Humane Wildlife Control. “They are protected by law, all migratory birds are protected. It’s a federal crime to disturb them.”

Experts said owlets are especially vulnerable to this kind of pestering.

“The babies there are frightened enough, you risk the chance of them hurting themselves in the box, hurting each other, fledging too soon,” Dmytryk said.

PREVIOUS STORY: A $500 reward is on offer for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the two adult men caught on security camera tormenting baby owls at a Moss Landing restaurant, Haute Enchilada Cafe and Gallery.

Humane Wildlife Control spokesperson Rebecca Dmytryk said the owls lived in a nest box with a live camera feed inside the box and explained that where owls are generally used to control any potential rodent populations outside.

“There’s a camera inside and outside the box. We saw two men on our camera footage come towards the box around 7:45 p.m. with a pole, perhaps a long fishing pole in their hands. We didn’t see the men clearly but one man was poking at the bottom of the box or the sides. From the camera located inside the box, we’re noticing how afraid the owls are of this intrusion,” Dmytryk said.

Humane Wildlife Control sent in this footage showing disturbance to the owls. It is a federal crime – a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to in anyway disturb, harass or otherwise harm protected wild birds or active nests.

“The public is being asked for help in finding out who this person is. A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible,” Dmytryk said