54 owls fell out of the Arizona sky, scientists investigating why

PHOENIX — The owls began showing up on Sept. 27th, 2024.

During a span of five weeks last fall, more than four dozen owls were discovered sick or dead across metropolitan Phoenix.

The baseball-sized flammulated owls – able to fly 300 miles in a day - were found in pools, yards, and public spaces. Seventeen of the 54 were dead, the rest suffering. In the end, just 13 of the owls survived.

The mystery of the 54 “flammies” has researchers at three universities working with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to determine just what happened.

Good Samaritans Turn in Owls Across Phoenix

John Bello found one of the owls. The assistant director of ASU’s Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve in north Phoenix, Bello found the owl near a patio when he began his shift at work one morning in October 20