Of Owls and Education

Blog readers may have noted that back in July, en route to the local Regatta, Nancy came into possession of the remains of a Barred Owl that had been hit by a car. (not hers!) Since the bird was banded, a roadside decision was made to get the owl to the good folks at Algonquin Park, who would know where the information belonged. So our little owl spent the Regatta day well wrapped in plastic in the freezer at Port Cunnington Lodge, and was later whisked away to the Park. At the very least, her sad death would not go un-noted, and might contribute to a study of owls and their behaviour.

Well, this week, we received a certificate of appreciation from The Canadian Wildlife Service, USGS, Science for a Changing World. Seems our little owl was a lady, born in 2005, and banded near Swindon, Ontario by a Mrs. McKeever September 8. She was a healthy owl -- death by misadventure and automobile. Given our 'druthers', she'd still be in our hills, hooting at us, but at least there is a tiny bit more information now about owls and their migratory patterns.

Many years ago, people used to kill owls, and other birds, so they could have them stuffed and displayed in the living room. My aunt was a terror for this, and I remember being afraid as a child to go into her cottage because of all the dead animals and birds that loomed from the rafters. But that was then. This is now.

Except ... several years back, we came into possession of a very old case of owls. Literally, a case, a corner case to be precise, stuffed full of stuffed owls. The provenance was that it had come from the estate of someone on the Great Lakes, a lighthouse keeper, and the date scribbled in pencil looked like 1878. Since the same estate sale included stuffed ducks that became extinct as species about that time, it seemed to fit. Nancy didn't want it to end up in a landfill, so she bought it and brought it home.

As Brian says, her entire house is a conversation piece...













Rick, one of the Conservation Wizards from Algonquin Park and our Point Man in the Barred Owl caper, rode again to the rescue. The owl collection has gone to the Park, for possible display. (Of course, they need to do some science to ensure that it is not carrying any little nasty bugs that would damage their millions of dollars worth of display animals) but initial signs are positive. We hope the owls will find a home there, where people can learn more about owls from a close-up look, and where no more owls ever need to be harmed. We're all for education, and we so hate to see wasted lives.

Did you know, for example, that the Barred Owl is the only owl with brown eyes? Here's a link where you can not only see, but hear one of these wonderful owls, with their distinctive Who Cooks for You? call.

By the way, in that case? There's a Great Horned Owl, a Long eared owl, a Screech and a Saw-Whet. Not a Barred Owl in sight.