Live Owl Program At Edmond Town Hall

Draws A Crowd

By Nancy K. Crevier

Nearly 150 people of all ages flocked to Edmond Town Hall Theatre on Wednesday afternoon, December 29, for a special premovie program presented by Horizon Wings of Ashford.

With Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation & Education director Mary-Beth Kaeser and Horizon staff members Jeanne Wadsworth and Brenda Lyons in the theater were four very special entertainers: Cedar, an Eastern screech owl; Emrys, a barred owl; Silo, a barn owl; and Oscar, a great horned owl.

The hourlong program held the attention of the audience as, one by one, the handlers gently removed the birds of prey from their boxes and held them aloft for all to admire.

Beginning with Cedar, Ms Wadsworth explained that the little owl, like the other program owls, is at Horizon Wings due to an injury that has made it impossible for him to be released into the wild.

“Screech owls are very common to Connecticut,” said Ms Wadsworth, and because they will come out to hunt during the daytime, it is possible to sometime spot the tiny raptors deep in the woods. Because he is used to going to performances, Cedar was very quiet at the Wednesday show, but the staff played a recording of the eerie call of the screech owl at the request of one young audience member who wondered what the owl sounded like.

Silo’s appearance offered the opportunity for people to see an owl that is rapidly disappearing from the wild. Scientists believe that toxins in the environment — such as poisoned mice consumed by barn owls — are contributing to the demise of the owl, also known as the “monkey faced owl” or the “heart faced owl.” Only five pairs of barn owls are known to nest in Connecticut, said Ms Kaeser, and they are endangered in several other states. Barn owls are valuable, as one can devour more than 1,000 rodents in a summer, she explained.

The barn owl has asymmetrical hearing, said Ms Kaeser, allowing it to draw in sounds from different angles, a process known as “triangulating” the sound.

“One ear is set up higher than the other on Silo,” she said, “and one ear is larger than the other.” It is a myth that birds can smell, she added. “Owls hunt by hearing,” said Ms Kaeser.

Like other raptors, owls have unusually large eyes and sharp eyesight. Because their eyes are so large — the equivalent of a human having melon-sized eyes — they must turn their entire heads. Fourteen vertebrae in the necks of owls allows them to turn their heads quickly from side to side, making it look sometimes as though the head spins entirely around.

The strong talons of a raptor enable a bird like the great horned owl to snap the vertebrae of its prey easily, even when outweighed by the victim.

Horizon Wings exists not only to rehabilitate raptors, but to educate the public as well. Before presenting Emrys and Oscar, Ms Wadsworth gave a brief lesson on simple ways the public can help prevent injury to owls and other wildlife.

“Recycle,” urged Ms Wadsworth, holding up a crushed soda can. Cans tossed into the woods are a curiosity to small birds and animals that are attracted to any remaining juice or soda. “Paws and beaks can get stuck in the cans. Recycle your cans safely,” she said.

The plastic can holders are a notorious threat to wildlife when not disposed of properly. Cut six-pack holders apart before recycling them, just in case they blow away from the recycling bin. It is too easy for animals and birds to get tangled in them and perish.

Yogurt cups are another hazard for small animals. Cut slits into the cups before recycling them, she said.

Mylar balloons are attractive to birds, and animals will swallow them, as they will the plastic grocery bags.

“When bags end up in the water, they look like jellyfish. Sea turtles and whales will eat them and die. It takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to break down,” Ms Wadsworth told the audience. More than 88.5 billion plastic bags are used in the United States each year, and only one percent is recycled. “Give yourself a big hand if you use a canvas shopping bag,” she said.

“Please dispose of fishing line properly,” begged Ms Wadsworth. Birds get their legs, wings, and tongues entangled in fishing line left behind, and have even carried it back to nests where the baby birds have been strangled by it.

Emrys came to Horizon Wings due to the loss of a wing in an accident. Unlike the other light-eyed owls, Emrys’ eyes are black. He delighted the audience with his soft, groaning “hoot hoot hoo hoo,” as Ms Lyons showed off the striped owl, and fielded questions from the audience concerning the habits of the barred owl.

As Ms Kaeser introduced Oscar, the great horned owl, he responded with the low “whoo whoo” that most people associate with owls.

Known as the “tiger of the woods,” the great horned owl is a strong and tenacious raptor, said Ms Kaeser, with no natural predators. As the great horned owls swoop down over roadways in pursuit of prey, they become vulnerable to collisions with automobiles. That is how Oscar was injured, completely losing the use of one wing.

“Owls are known as the ‘silent hunters,’” Ms Kaeser said. The serrated edge of their flight feathers causes the wind to pass silently through the outspread wings, allowing owls to pursue their prey with no flapping sounds.

One very identifiable quality of the great horned owl, she said, that makes it easy for Horizon Wings staff to know immediately what is in a box carried in by a rescuer, is the scent of skunk.

Great horned owls will eat fish, other birds, rodents, and squirrels. “But their very favorite food is skunk,” she said.

The educators answered several questions directed at them, from as many adults as children, before ending the afternoon program.

“I liked the little screech owl best,” said 6½-year-old Xavier Nocito, as he wriggled out of his front row seat. “I like small animals.”

Nine-year-old Bobby Elston found the great horned owl to be intriguing. “He was big and interesting. I liked the description of how it hunts and lives,” he said.

For adult Catherine Boisvert, who attended the program with friends Brianna and Roseanne Baranowski, the environmental portion of the program carried an important message.

“The show was fabulous,” she said. “It’s a great way to let the little ones know about taking care of the environment and sharing the earth. We have to teach our young ones to do the right thing.”

Horizon Wings was brought to Edmond Town Theatre by manager Tom Mahoney as a complementary program to the movie Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’hoole, which was showing at various times through Friday afternoon, December 31.