From Wild Mountain Birds

Another great horned owl grounded by skunk spray right into his eyes.

GHOWs are one of the only native predators of skunks (fishers also routinely hunt skunks). Skunk spray can cause severe chemical burn on the surface of the eyes and eyelids, but the stink doesn’t affect most birds because they have a poor sense of smell. The intense pain, severe swelling, and inflammation can cause temporary blindness. Because they can’t see, in a few days, an owl can be so emaciated that it can slowly starve to death if not noticed by someone. Oily spray can also stick to feathers, leading to heavy preening stress, and can cause respiratory distress if inhaled. Water or rain alone don’t rinse off the spray (or the smell).

This guy was hunting skunk in a city neighborhood so luckily was found (and smelled) in time. A bit underweight, very hungry and able to see just enough to devour feeder mice. Eyes are rinsed and then treated with an avian eye ointment; still soaking wet from rain and one quick bath with Dawn dish soap; possible right wing soft tissue pain but no obvious fracture or open wounds. Apparently flat flies go elsewhere when a raptor is sprayed because I haven’t found a single fly. They must have an excellent sense of smell (the flies) but I’ll have to go down that rabbit hole now to understand just how well they smell compared to other wild ones.