Most great horned owls don’t get store-bought hanging planter baskets for nests, but a family of owls got lucky recently when they suffered a misfortune among so many loving humans.

The owls have been nesting in the backyard of Bruce and Kim Abernethy this spring, and they couldn’t have picked a more owl-loving couple. The Abernethys set up a telescope in their kitchen to keep an eye on the family, and they love owls so much they have a stained-glass window depicting an owl in their home.

So when they noticed on March 23 that the nest was gone after a storm, they called Tommy White, one of Suffolk’s go-to wild bird rescuers, who specializes in owls and other birds of prey.

One of the baby owls was perched on a branch by itself. Bruce Abernethy located the other on the ground.

Tommy White and his friend Ricky Whisonant, a board member of Altons’ Keep Wildbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, headed out soon after the call to replace the nest with a hanging basket Kim Abernethy purchased. They were able to anchor it to the tree with chains and wire ties, cover everything with straw and put the babies back in. Soon, the mother owl returned and went right back to the business of caring for her young.

Suffolk, and the birds who live here, are quite fortunate to have folks like White, Whisonant and others who take such good care of our wildlife.