The Bird Who Stole My Heart

Have you ever experienced something that took you by surprise?  I have.

It all started at the end of April this year.  I was asked to care for a one month old Eurasian Eagle Owl chick.  He was hatched at the end of March this year in WBS’s propagation department Sunnen building, behind-the-scenes.  His parents, Martina and Sinbad, did a great job of bringing him into this world.

 All baby owls have that "innocent" look

When raising an owl for educational purposes, socialization is the first step.  This basically exposes them to many different environments, such as different people, places, and objects.  Showing birds various things allows them to become more comfortable around people and easily trainable in the future.  Since I have been caring for him, he has experienced many diverse things, such as traveling with me to Grant’s Farm (I am the supervisor for WBS at Grant’s Farm’s Animal Encounters show).

After a couple of days of having this one month old chick in my care, I decided he needed a name.  I thought for a long time and could not decide what to name him.  Finally, I looked in a baby book and found the perfect name--Emerson.  The name just clicks with him and his personality.  He is an adorable bird who is curious about everything.  For his enrichment he pounces on little down feathers, small bugs and balls of paper. 

 To look at him here you'd never guess what a large impressive creature he will become

The Eurasian Eagle Owl is one of the largest owls in the world! They have a wingspan ranging from 5 to 6 feet,  and they weigh between 3 ½ to 7 pounds.  These enormous owls stand to an impressive height of 2 to 2 ½ feet tall. Compare that to the smallest owl in the world, the Elf Owl. Those little guys weigh about 1½ ounces and are about the size of a sparrow!  An Eagle Owl’s diet in the wild consists of a wide variety of meat, such as birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, but mostly mammals.  The largest animal they have been known to prey upon is small deer.  They are native to Europe, Asia and North Africa and inhabit areas that have wooded habitats and rocky cliffs.  They like to nest on these cliffs and lay 2 to 4 eggs per clutch. 

Emerson trying out all that new adult plumage 

My experience with Emerson has been and will be unforgettable and will be one of my most cherished memories!  I have watched him grow from a small fluff ball to a large impressive adult.  I have trained him to go into his crate (and like it), stand on indoor and outdoor perches and stand on my glove. 

Because of his careful socialization he acts very calm on my glove when we walk around the site.  The first time he got on my glove was an amazing feeling.  He stood very tall looking around from his new vantage point. 

It was also heart stopping to watch him fly for the first time, even if it was a short distance (from my couch to my bed).  He has made me so proud of what he has accomplished, even if it is part of his natural instincts. 

Now what am I supposed to do with this? 

His first bath in his water bowl was very interesting to watch!  He didn’t know exactly what to do after he jumped in.  Emerson just stood there looking at me, seemingly waiting for advice.  A second later he jumped right out. Then after about 2 minutes of staring at the water he finally went back in again and took a very wet bath!

 OK, NOW I get the picture!

Do I sound like a proud parent?  Needless to say my heart is taken!!!

Submitted by Lisbeth Hodges, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

The Rookie Files: Hoss

Yes dear readers I am once again blogging about a Eurasian Eagle owl.  

Hoss and Doctor Who have some similarities: they are both owls, were both free lofted until a year old, and both needed for emergency show help.  That is where the similarities end.

 This is Hoss's "curious" look

Hoss, for starters, is male, so he tops out at about 3 and half pounds.  He is also being trained in a different method than Doctor Who. Dr. Who was manned (taught to sit on the glove) using the older system.  Basically every time she jumped off the glove, we put her right back on until she learned we were a stable perch (and one that gave out food). 

The method we are using with Hoss is positive reinforcement. It is his choice whether or not to come to my glove. Of course every time he does, there is a tasty reward in it for him (rat meat: yum!).  It has been a long and slow process, but with repetition, constant training, and a lot of rat meat, Hoss will now step to and from my glove, to and from the scale (and allow me to take his weight, which is very important), on and off of his outdoor perch, and he has become one of our best sidewalk birds.

Many people love to stare at his beautiful plumage(similar in color and pattern to a Great Horned owl) and of course his piercing orange eyes. Since he is so young and new to people, it is fascinating to watch his facial feathers and feather tufts shift as he encounters new and different people. 

The look he gets when he is not sure about an approaching person or object 

Most guests ask if those tufts are his ears. They are actually just feathers that change position depending on his mood and interest level. If he sees something he does not like, one of the many peacocks that patrol the grounds for instance, then he will puff up all of his feathers, raise his wings, hiss and click his beak. This is how he would frighten off predators in the wild, since he would rather scare them off than get in a fight and risk injury.

Hoss is a very curious bird, and one that picks up on patterns quickly. He has started to realize that every time a large group of people come up to us, he gets a treat. Now whenever there is a large crowd, he will begin searching my glove for the treat he knows is coming. To keep him on his talons, so to speak, I randomize when he gets his treats. It could be while the people are there or after they leave.  He never knows.

The next step with Hoss is having him step to the other trainer’s glove.  Once he does this, we will hopefully be able to use him in shows. So next time you’re at the Milwaukee County Zoo, look for us by the gate to the Bird of Prey Theater. We might be having a training session, although who is training who is still up for debate.

Submitted by Leah Tyndall, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

The Rookie Files: Dr. Who

Doctor Who, also known as the Whonado and Whobeast, is a female Eurasian Eagle Owl.  

She was almost two years old and was definitely one of the bigger training challenges this summer.  When we first start training a bird it is best to start at a young age.  Since this is when they would be learning life skills from their parents in the wild, it is the easiest time to teach them the behaviors that they will need to know as a show bird.  Since we had few education programs at zoos the summer after Who was hatched, this was not the case.

 A Eurasian Eagle Owl flying directly overhead is a breathtaking experience

Doctor Who was hatched at the World Bird Sanctuary in our propagation building.  Once she reached her full size at three months she was put into free loft, basically given her own room (complete with all the trimmings of a few perches and water bowl).  Who lived the bachelorette lifestyle for about a year and a half until we received some happy news.  We were going to be doing four zoo shows for the 09 season!  Even more exciting was that each show would be flying an eagle owl…except, we only had two flying eagle owls ready for shows.  After a lot of patient training the Doctor was ready to head out to Milwaukee as our new show bird.  Once there we began working on her show behavior. We started out simply, with short hops from the glove to a stump.  It took longer for Dr. Who to grasp "simplicity" than most other eagle owls we've trained.  Over time we extended the distance between the glove and stump and later between two different stumps, until Doctor Who could comfortably fly where we directed her.

A Eurasian Eagle Flying just above his head is something a youngster is not likely to forget soon

During the show Doctor Who flew to a perch on the side of the stage and then flew between a series of stumps for a reward, before hopping to a trainer’s glove and being walked offstage.  Obviously not rocket science, but it is a tad more complicated for an owl.  Despite the fact that many people think owls are highly intelligent, in reality they do not have very large brains.  Those beautiful eyes they use to help them hunt actually take up two thirds of the space inside their skull, which does not leave a whole lot of room for a brain.  Their eyes are also so large that there is not enough room for the muscles used to turn the eyes, causing owls to always look in one direction. This fixed vision is compensated for by having the ability to turn their heads three quarters of the way around or 270 degrees.  They can do this because they have fourteen bones in their neck, whereas all mammals including humans have only seven.

 A Eurasion Eagle Owl demonstrate's it's ability to turn it's head 180 degrees--it could go as far as 270 degrees if needed

Like all new stars Doctor Who had some caveats; she was not a morning bird (no flying before noon, period) and she was very picky about her personnel.  For the most part the Doctor did her routine well, she loved her tasty rat treats and we had a very long section of script for her.  Generally her only issue was pausing for long periods of time in order to stare at the audience, but this allowed us to show off her characteristic orange eyes and her large size.  One day she made the discovery that she did not have to remain on her current stump or hop to her trainer, but could in fact fly back to the previous stump…and sit…and stare…and sit a little more.  Of course since there was no longer a reward on the stump she eventually learned this was a futile exercise.  Because of this training hiccup, many in the audience that day became owl experts.

Now that the show season is over, Doctor Who is back in free loft.  She spends most of her time doing what she does best; sitting on her perch, occasionally playing with her chew toy, and eating her dinner…which, like all stars, must be hand delivered to her room.

Submitted by Leah Tyndall, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

How They Grow - Eurasian Eagle Owls

Let us introduce you to the largest owl in the world - the Eurasian Eagle Owl!   This species is indigenous to Europe, Asia and North Africa.

These little 11 day old hatchlings don't look so fierce do they?  However, when fully grown they are capable of capturing prey as large as a roe deer fawn.

Follow along with us as we track their development over their first ninety days.

At 14 days the first hatchling is becoming more alert and attuned to his surroundings.  

They're still sweet and cuddly though--right?

At 17 days, even though they're still cute and fluffy, we sometimes see a glimpse of the mischievous little predator hiding behind the fluff.

At 34 days are these innocent little stares hiding a bundle of mischief?

At 45 days - beginning to get his "big boy" feathers, and practicing his perching techniques. 

In the wild he would be getting ready to fledge the nest during the next week or two, although the parents may continue to care for him for as long as 140 to 168 days.

At 62 days we begin to see the natural hunting instinct that prompts them to pounce on anything that moves--or doesn't!  Here we see him practicing his mouse killing technique by pouncing on a twig

At 77 days he's beginning to resemble the adult of his species, and in the wild would be honing his hunting techniques, while still being cared for by his parents.  At this stage most of his swoops and pounces would probably be near misses.

At 83 days, he's almost fully feathered and full of mischief, but still trying to pull the innocent act.

In the wild he would be attempting to hunt and catch prey, which might include insects, small rodents, and small birds, as well as medium sized birds and mammals like opossums, hares, foxes, ducks, quail and pheasant.  If he lived in a coastal area he might feed mainly on ducks and seabirds.  Mom and dad would still be feeding him while he is refining his hunting techniques.

By 140 to 170 days old he will have perfected his hunting skills well enough that his parents will have stopped supporting him, and he will be on his own.

Once he has grown all of his adult plumage and reached full adulthood he will be as impressive as our resident Eurasian Eagle Owl, Bogart, pictured here.  

To fully appreciate the size difference between the Eurasian Eagle Owl and the other species of owls with which you may be more familiar, come join us for one of our Owl Prowls.  

Only 4 Owl Prowls remaining: 2/20 & 21, and 2/27 & 28

For Reservations Call:  636-225-4390, Ext. 0

One last look at spring babies

These are the last pictures I took of our eurasian eagle owl chicks from this year's hatch. As you know, we had a lot of owl chicks this year including a number of American barn owls that we released. Our eagle owls have gone to zoos and raptor education programs around the country.

This guy was from the last clutch and I think he is fiendishly adorable. Is it me or does he appear to be plotting something?