A tiny owl stranded at sea surprised a local crew boat on the morning of October 6. The boat, which was shuttling workers from the Goleta Pier to Platform Holly, found the western burrowing owl floating in the ocean two miles offshore.
The crew, captains Daniel Madsen, Amor Cueva, and Jerry Gereminanao and engineer, Eric Benavidez, of SoCal Ship Services , were heading to the site of Holly’s ongoing decommissioning project. But they stopped to help the little bird — an important member of a declining native species.
“We often see different seabirds who need assistance, but we have never seen an owl in the water,” Captain Madsen shared.