The daily routine of Alkesta administration manager Rimas Malaškevičius revolves around responsibility, decision-making, and complex road and bridge construction projects. After closing the office door, however, he steps into a completely different world—one that brings him rest, peace, and inspiration.

The birdhouses shown in the photos are his creations. He makes them in his free time and gives them away to kind people and forest birds. These are no ordinary birdhouses—Rimas is a certified traditional craftsman of national heritage and a creator of small-scale architecture.

Colleagues know him not only as a skilled craftsman but also as a devoted protector and rescuer of owls. More than one meaningful story proves it.

“Everything started about ten years ago when we bought a homestead with an old school building in Gervėnai village, Alytus district. After demolishing the building, we saw an owl sitting on the power lines. That’s when I realized—we had destroyed its home. To make up for it, we installed an owl nesting box in the yard,” Rimas recalls.

A few years later, an owl settled in the nesting box—possibly the same one—and soon had owlets.

Since then, owls return to nest at his homestead every year. In total, Rimas has built around forty birdhouses, although only two are specifically designed for owls. As he explains, owls establish nests at least two kilometers apart and do not tolerate others in their territory—so only one owl family lives there each year.

About four years ago, a young owlet fell out of the nest before it could fly. Rimas not only cared for and fed the injured bird but also helped it learn to fly.

“It looked like crows had attacked it—we found it injured. We kept it in a farm building and built an outdoor enclosure. We mostly fed it beef and chicken. Sometimes we even shaped the food like a mouse—wrapping meat in dog fur to imitate one. Owls have a unique digestive system—fur is a natural part of their diet, which is why they mostly eat mice in the wild,” he explains.

He even trained the young owl to fly: “I would gently toss it up and exercise it as best I could. Eventually, it started flying,” he says. “At night, an adult owl would come— we could hear it hooting and the owlet responding. I believe they were communicating. When the owlet recovered and learned to fly, we think its mother eventually took it away—at least that’s the story we like to believe,” he smiles.

Rimas’s efforts extend beyond his own yard. He mentions that in the village there are two other enthusiasts like him who also care deeply about owls.

“Together, we have installed seventeen owl nesting boxes in nearby forests, each several kilometers apart. Last year, owls settled in twelve of them and raised their young,” he says with pride.

The birdhouses created by our colleague, the rescued owlet, and other visitors of his homestead can be seen in the photo gallery.