Prowling for owls

I learned about owls from a young man named Toma at an environmental education centre in New York state more than forty years ago. Toma stood in a clearing surrounded by woods, fellow staff, and visitors to the centre. And then he started mimicking the call of a Barred Owl—a very deep, throaty “who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all.”

It was wondrous, then kind of anti-cllimatic when nothing happened. Zero. In fact, things became quieter. Toma called again, but still got no response. We’re not a patient lot, our culture. We want results now.

I thought it was magic enough to be in a lovely place, surrounded by woods, with a very interesting person pretending to be an owl. It soon got way better, as first one Barred Owl responded to Toma’s calls. And then a second one called back. Before long one of them came close enough for us to watch, my first close encounter with these magnificent birds.

Throughout our lives, if we’re fortunate, we are given gifts. This was one of them for me, something I’ve never forgotten. At Macphail Woods, we’ve always been committed to teaching about forest restoration, but always partnered with improving wildlife habitat and increasing biodiversity.

We started hosting owl prowls as a way of getting people to fall in love with forests. Slowly, we got more and more people coming out to these events. A slideshow introduced participants to this fascinating family of birds, describing the complexity of this family. We often think of owls as creatures of the night, when in fact some are much more active during the day. While some owls are forest dwellers, others are more likely to be found around fields. Some are year-round residents, some migrate up from the south to raise a family, while still others are winter visitors from the north.

As we slowly built up a community of owl enthusiasts, something totally unexpected came along that had a huge impact on the public’s interest in owls. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books featured a Snowy Owl that was gifted to Harry. But it wasn’t until the first movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, that Harry’s pet owl Hedwig achieved stardom. All of a sudden, owls were cool.

It is strange that we had to see a Snowy Owl in a movie to really appreciate the beauty and grace of these birds. Most winters there is a Snowy Owl hanging around the Hillsborough Bridge on the outskirts of Charlottetown and thousands of people drive by without paying it any attention.

Our province is rich in owls, though most of us rarely get to see one. Barred Owls are the most commonly seen and heard species and respond the best to calling. They are creatures of the night, though they often respond to calls during the day. One thing I’ve learned from decades of owl prowls is that people rarely go out at night, and if they do, they are often afraid. Somehow, it has become unnatural to be outside in the dark, but we’re changing that.

As we do every spring, we’re inviting the public to come out to one of our four owl prowls. There are two on April 11 and two on April 18. They start each evening at 7:30 pm, with one running in the Nature Centre and another at the Macphail Homestead. These are popular events and we ask that you register on our macphailwoods.org website so that we are not overwhelmed.

Looking forward to seeing you there.