Anyone who knew me before
my internship at World Bird Sanctuary knows that I absolutely love owls. Anyone who met or spoke to me after the
start of my internship knows that my all time favorite bird is Tigger, the
Tawny Owl.
Many people love owls
because they are adorable, which is completely true. However, they are also amazing creatures! For example, owls can turn their heads
270 degrees around. This enables
them to look over their right shoulder, completely behind them, and then over
their left shoulder in the same glance!
Most owl species have
fringing on their outer wing feathers, which muffles air flowing over their
wings and gives them silent flight.
This makes it much easier to sneak up on their prey.
One truly remarkable owl
species is the Barn Owl. You can
find videos of these amazing birds online that demonstrate just how incredible
these birds really are. One such
video that I found demonstrates just how incredible a Barn Owl's sense of
hearing truly is. The one in the
video is trained that a certain sound leads to food and is trained to find the
source of the sound. You can see
that the sound device is placed in an area of tall grass where it is not
visible. As soon as the sound is made the owl flies directly to the source. In
slow motion, you can see the owl's head is completely locked right on target
the entire time. These birds are some of the best hunters I have ever
seen.
Many people, myself
included, love Tawny Owls because they are so adorable. However, these birds are considered a
prey species. Tawny Owls share
habitat with the second largest owl species, the Eurasian Eagle Owl. Because of this, Tawny Owls are known
to be quite aggressive. These
birds will chase larger birds and animals from their territory. People who have
hobbies like bird watching and wildlife photography will actually avoid Tawny
Owl territory during breeding season.
These owls have been known to fly after people, as well as other
predators, to flush them out of the Tawny Owl territory.
I have been able to
witness some of these adaptations this summer while working at WBS’s Stone Zoo
bird show in Boston. We have two
great owls with us--Cupid, the Barn Owl, and Peabody, the Tawny Owl.
There are many more
amazing adaptations and traits of owls that I enjoy learning about every day
that I work with these birds.
If you live in or are
visiting the Boston area this summer, be sure to schedule a visit to Stone
Zoo—and in particular, the bird show. I think you will agree with me that
these beautiful creatures are amazing!
1 comment:
Jamie, those owls are almost as cute as you. Keep enjoying the shows and sharing your knowledge of those cuties. `~ mike's mom
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