Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl

As is the case with all books about specific animals, Wesley lives an impossibly long and full life and dies at the end.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let me tell you that it is worth it. Wesley is a sentient being, a man in all the old fashioned ways (he's a provider and will not rest until she pretends to eat the mice parts he brings her, sharing his food). He builds her nests out of magazines and he likes to cuddle.

This is a romance novel between an owl and an academic/scientist. There were times when I laughed out loud. And there is sex!

And scientists. I found the descriptions of various scientists (okay, oddballs) at Caltech fascinating. Not only does O'Brien tell us everything about Wesley and other owls in general, but show more she gives a peek at the cool, quirky world of academic research with animals. No, not that kind of research! There is no vivisection, no torture, these scientists love animals, sometimes enough to let insects grow under one's skin!

Now I know that I'm not crazy when I mourn my animals as I mourn human family members. When I think of them as fellow beings that deserve respect and love. I heart Wesley and Stacey. show less

When student researcher Stacey O’Brien was introduced to an injured four-day-old barn owl at Caltech she could not have possibly imagined that the little bird would change her life forever. O’Brien is an animal lover of the first degree and it was easy to convince her to take on the task of caring for Wesley, as she soon named the little guy, even though she knew that he could never be released into the wild. He would instead spend his extra-long nineteen-year lifespan living in her bedroom and become her closest companion during all of those years.

The unbreakable bond that developed between Stacey and Wesley makes for an astounding story. It is not overly surprising that Wesley, taken in at such a young age, would “imprint” on show more Stacey to the degree that he came to see her as some kind of mother/mate combination. What might be even more remarkable is how maternal Stacey felt toward Wesley for the entire nineteen years of their relationship, even referring to herself as “mommy” when she spoke to the little owl. In fact, and in every sense of the word, Stacey and Wesley created a two-member family for themselves to such a degree that few would consider Wesley to have been held in captivity. Rather, the two lived side-by-side as equals.

Wesley the Owl is O’Brien’s fascinating account of what living so intimately with a wild creature requires from the human in the relationship. Imagine having to come up with the four or five dead mice a day required to keep a barn owl healthy (a number that O’Brien estimates to have reached 28,000 over Wesley’s lifetime). Imagine having a nocturnal animal just a few feet from the bed in which you hope to get your own night’s sleep. Think about the sheer clean-up involved and the constant vigilance required to ensure that the animal does not mistake any visitor as a threat requiring physical attack. Consider the degree to which personal freedom has to be sacrificed in this kind of relationship, even to limiting other relationships to people who accept your “pet.”

But for Stacey O’Brien it was all worth it. She and Wesley each learned to communicate in the language of the other, verbally and physically, to the degree that they developed a relationship of equals. They cuddled, they talked, they “groomed” each other, they brought treats to one another (although Stacey only faked her enjoyment of dead mice), and they grew together into two adults enjoying a closer relationship than some married couples might experience (including Wesley’s idea of a mating ritual).

For Stacey and Wesley it was all about unconditional love. After all, as Stacey came to learn, that is the Way of the Owl, a code of conduct that more of us than do should strive to emulate.

Stacey the human and Wesley the owl were lucky to find and keep each other for a lifetime. We should all be so lucky.

Rated at: 5.0 show less

A bit too much Stacey, who is a woman, not a girl, but who does often behave immaturely, according to this memoir. But plenty of owl science, too.

Fledgling birds of prey have longer wing and tail feathers, which helps them learn to fly the same way air force pilots do... graduating later to shorter and more maneuverable profiles.

Owls are not social, and cannot be scolded; they interpret that as threat. Respect them, work things out with them, negotiate... like the best parents do, or like horse whisperers do....

I think the chapter called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was my favorite. It explored how the owl is acclimated to live mostly indoors with humans... but his wildness, his predatory nature, can be aroused.

Btw, don't read the book show more while eating if you're sensitive. Mouse parts are invoked often, and so are even more gross things. show less

I am a bird-lover, bird-watcher, and some say, bird-brain. When on a field trip out to one of the plantations, with my son's 3rd grade class, I overheard him tell a classmate who was wondering what type of bird they'd just seen fly overhead, "Ask my mom. She knows her birds." For the past few springs, we've had a pair of screech owls nest near our bedroom window, and they and their offspring put us on the path to The Way of the Owl. Owls abound here by Lake Frances -- I onetime heard the call of 4 different types in the evening. When my cousin came to visit, she brought this book with her, and passed it along to me, knowing my affinity for owls.

Wesley was a 4 day old injured fledgling barn owl when Stacey O'Brien, a biologist working show more with owls at CalTech met him. His injury was such that he could not be habilitated to survive in the wild successfully, and he was placed in Stacey's care. This book is the story of the remarkable relationship that followed over the next 19 years. It's a wonderful story, full of juicy facts for bird lovers, and wonderful stories for animal lovers in general, both heartwarming and heart-breaking. And yes, Wesley dies in the end, but not before surpassing the life expectancy of a barn owl in the wild, which is roughly 15 years. His distinct personality will remain with me as well as much that he and Stacey taught me. I also applaud the author, for she truly reshaped her life around her charge, even though she kept his presence in her life relatively quiet, for fear of activists who were bent on freeing "captured" wild animals setting Wesley loose into a habitat he would have been unable to survive.

The tag line for this book is "the remarkable love story of an owl and his girl." I couldn't agree more. show less

There are few words that would reflect the sheer beauty of this book. As the subtitle notes, "The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl."
Stacey Obrien was a young biologist working with learned experts at Caltech's prestigious research community, studying animal relationships with humans.

In 1985 Stacey brought a tiny baby barn owl who, because of a damaged wing could not survive in the wild.

Stacy developed a remarkable relationship with the bitty creature. He grew to learn to love baths in the tub, sing song communications with Stacy, an ability to fly inside her house.

Most beautiful relationship of trust, responsibility and love. He died in 2004, after an incredibly longer than normal life span.

This is a book that brought tears, show more and reaffirmed my strong bonds with the animals I loved. Mindful of the instances that I felt my pet locked eyes and communicated, bringing solace in a difficult time.

Five Stars! show less

I am a huge barn owl fan, so I knew I had to buy this book as soon as I saw it! I've already adopted a barn owl called Gilbert from the National Falconry School, and see him most weekends at their display outside our bookshop (and yes, I do talk to him!), so a whole book about someone who raised a barn owl from a baby sounded wonderful!

Stacey O'Brien's life changed forever the day she was given the opportunity to adopt a baby barn owl from Caltech's owl research department, where she had been working for about a year. The owl was only four days old, looked a bit like a baby dinosaur and hadn't even opened its eyes yet, but she fell head over heels in love and agreed to take it home. Although Wesley had an injured wing and could never show more be released into the wild, he settled right into life with his new mum. This is their story...

Wesley is a wonderful character, and the intense bond between human and owl shines out from every page. I giggled at so many of O'Brien's stories - of Wesley's first attempts to fly and his outrage when she dares to laugh at his tangled crash-landings, of his unprecedented love for water (which gets particularly interesting when he decides he wants to share her bath), of his attempts to woo her by building her nests and trying to feed her mice - and teared up a few times too. O'Brien really knows her stuff, so on top of the Wesley's story there is a whole lot of interesting information about owls, as well as a few wider titbits from the natural sciences as a whole and a tantalising insight into what it's like to work for a big research institute like Caltech.

Wesley and Stacey learned a lot from each other over the nineteen years they spent together, and their close partnership helped bring about a new understanding of elements of barn owl life that had never been accessible before. It is a charming, heartwarming and amusing story, as well as an informative look at the world of the barn owl, and it might just be one of my favourite books this year! show less

GREAT little book, this memoir of a likable young woman – a biologist at CalTech, and the baby owl she takes under her wing for the next 19 years is funny, poignant and fascinating. She lets us know we have totally underestimated the intelligence of the animal kingdom, and their ability to communicate with us, if we would only “listen”. Stacey’s anecdotes about keeping her owl, Wesley, “in mice” are laugh-out-loud funny. Perhaps best, are the facts about owls that one might never know just from observing, owls have no waterproofing on their feathers, they can shift their skin all around to reach all their feathers for preening, and their saliva is so acidic (in order to reduce mice to a bone/fur packet to regurgitate) that show more it is antibacterial. MAT show less