An Owl at Sea

An Owl at Sea is based on a true story where a lost, short-eared owl lands on an oil rig in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. The crew on board are curious about how the owl managed to fly so far away from land. They care for her by making a bed and providing food. With the arrival of a helicopter which brought in a new crew of workers, the bird is flown to a shelter where she is cared for. After resting and regaining her strength, the owl is released back into the wild.

Both an adventure story and a mystery, An Owl at Sea offers many starting points for conversation and learning. The prose is descriptive in its detail of thought-provoking comparisons of the natural habitat of short-eared owls against the environment in which the owl finds herself lost. Here, the reader learns about the survival needs of an owl. Further conversation can focus on possible causes of how the owl became lost in an environment that is not natural to her. Children can be encouraged to use their imaginations to create a story as to how the owl became lost.

Ian Wallace’s water-colour illustrations highlight the adventure with descriptive images that reflect the content of the text. The paintings of the North Sea are especially beautiful, illustrating the movement of the sea in cool, rich shades of green.

The author includes information on how she came to write this story, along with information about the short-eared owl. Sources and a reading list are included.