Nobody knows what became of Rocky after that. Saw-whet owls typically live to the age of four in the wild, so if she’s still hunting in the woods of New York state, she is now a fairly old lady. Kalish did not do anything to help track her whereabouts or mark her as the famous Christmas owl. “I did not want people harassing Rocky,” she says. “Sure enough, a week after we released her, people would say, ‘I saw a saw-whet in my yard. Could it be Rocky?’ I’m thinking, For crying out loud, leave the bird alone. I chose not to band her. I just wanted her to be free and have a life.”
The story of Rocky the owl has become humanity’s keepsake.
Her big-city adventure has been immortalized in Lowery’s new animated film; the Marvel Studios series Hawkeye also included a callout to the little feathered hunter in its finale, when Jeremy Renner’s sharpshooting hero plummets from on high into the Rockefeller Center tree. Numerous children’s books have also been written about Rocky’s experience, including The Little Owl & The Big Tree, by Jonah and Jeanette Winter. Rocky’s real-life rescuer wrote her own storybook, The Christmas Owl, which Kalish collaborated on with writer Gideon Sterer and illustrator Ramona Kaulitzki. The wildlife shelter also sells Rocky the Owl tree ornaments, coffee mugs, and T-shirts to raise money for its rescue efforts.
Courtesy of Ravensbeard Wildlife Center
The Ravensbeard Wildlife Center doesn’t own Rocky’s rights, so anyone can retell her story, but the little owl has become a kind of mascot for the shelter. Rocky’s legacy is now helping to protect other wildlife creatures in need of rescue and rehabilitation. “We are a nonprofit, and we survive on the kindness of our donors,” says Matt Kalish, Ellen’s son, who helps oversee the organization. “We can’t charge for any of these services, and it is really expensive. We spend about $1,200, $1,500 a month on feed. Any eyes and attention we can get and any donations that we can add to keep doing this for another 25 years, we’re really grateful for.”
Lowery said he hopes An Almost Christmas Story will help remind people of Ravensbeard’s work during the upcoming giving season.
“It’s important to remember that that was a real bird, and there are people who are dedicated to taking care of birds like that,” he says. “If this movie does anything, I hope that it increases the amount of donations that that sanctuary gets. Because that is far more important than the warm fuzzies that we get from watching a cute owl finding itself in New York City.”