The World Bird
Sanctuary—staff, volunteers and interns—wishes one and all a happy and healthy
New Year.
Many of us humans have
certain rituals for ushering in the New Year—a party with friends and family, a
champagne toast, tooting horns and noisemakers of all kinds, eating a chunk of
pickled herring, watching a New Years Day parade, etc.
All that hooting signals the commencement of a Great Horned Owl's mating season
Some of our feathered
friends have rituals that take place over the New Year also. For owls this is the time of year when
love is in the air. Triggered by the Fall reverse photo period (shortened day lengths) Owls begin
claiming their territories and finding mates in late Fall and through the
winter months. This is when they
are the most vocal. If you are
lucky enough to have an owl near your home you may have heard their calls more
frequently after dusk. These calls
in the Winter are their territorial calls—somewhat like the old gold miners
“staking their claim”.
By the first of the year
our feathered Lotharios are still hooting—but these are now “come hither” calls
for any female in the area who may be interested. If you hear his deep booming call and an answering higher
pitched call you may have a mated pair calling to each other. By the end of January they will most
likely be sitting on eggs.
By the end of January the female will be sitting on eggs
If you would like to learn
more about these fascinating creatures (and meet some of them up close) join us
for one of our evening Owl Prowls. One of our Naturalists will give a 30-minute
presentation featuring live flying owls, followed by an easy night hike around
our grounds. You will have the
opportunity to try your hand at “hooting” as we try to find wild Barred Owls
and Great-horned Owls who are busy setting up territories and finding mates for
the winter owl breeding season!
You may be the lucky person to coax an answer from one of our local wild
owls.
Owl Prowls have been very
popular this year and have filled up quickly, but we still have a limited
number of openings available for remaining Owl Prowls. So don’t delay--book today to avoid last
minute disappointment. We have
openings remaining on the following dates:
February 1
February 23
March 1
March 9
All Owl Prowls start at
7pm.
To reserve a spot call our
Education Center at 636-225-4390 ext. 0.
$9 per adult; $7 per child
under 12
.
Friends of World Bird
Sanctuary receive a 10% discount.
Groups of 10 or more pay
$7 per adult and $7 per child.
Remember to dress
appropriately for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.
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