Kids get lessons about owls on Harry Potter's birthday at Windsor Library

Aug 10, 2023

As a means of giving a nod to the story character Harry Potter’s birthday (and his pet owl Hedwig), the Windsor Public Library invited Horizon Wings to give a presentation about owls, on July 31.

Horizon Wings is a raptor rehabilitation and education facility, based in Ashford, with the goal of rehabilitating injured birds so they can be released into nature. Sometimes, however, the best course of action is that the birds stay under human care, including with foster “parents.”

Horizon Wings President Mary-Beth Kaeser and volunteer Deb Csere explained that owls belong to the raptor family, most identifiable by sharp talons, large, forward-facing eyes, and a sharp, strong beak.

Along with Kaeser and Csere came, Oakley and Jade (Eastern Screech Owls), Tyton (a Barn Owl), Asha (a Barred Owl), and Oscar (a Great-Horned Owl).

Among the interesting facts is that what appears to be an Eastern Screech Owl’s ears are actually feather tufts.

“The tufts are not ears. Their ears are on the sides of their heads. They’re for camouflage, they’re for communication,” Kaeser said, adding that the small owls eat almost anything.

“They will take whatever for dinner,” she said. “They don’t migrate, because they can take a variety of prey – something small, like a junebug or a moth, or even a worm, a snake, a little lizard. They’ll take another bird or rodents. They like to live near water, because they’ll splash in the water and catch amphibians, they’ll catch frogs, and even crawfish.”

Contrary to the myth that owls can turn their heads all the way around, the owls can only get approximately 270-degrees of rotation, due to their flexible necks.

Tyton, Csere said, was found to have broken a bone between his breast bone and shoulder, and had already started to heal improperly, so nothing could be done, rendering Tyton permanently flightless.

Barn Owls are excellent predators, especially of rodents. While some farmers and other people use rodenticides to remove the critters, which make owls sick, some are wising up and building Barn Owl perches.

“This bird is a farmer’s friend. They eat a lot of rodents in a season. One owl can eat 1,000 rodents,” she said. “The good news is, a lot of people are getting smart. Organic farmers are putting up Barn Owl boxes, so the owls take care of their problems and they don’t use any poison, so it’s a win-win situation.”

One of the children asked what they should do if they find an injured owl.

“Don’t approach it. Get an adult, and the adult should go online to the DEEP website,” Csere said. “They have a list of people like Mary-Beth, who are trained to rehabilitate owls. They know what food to give them, and they know how to take care of them. Remember, these owls have very long talons. We’re wearing these gloves because they are very, very sharp. You don’t ever want to approach any sort of wild animal.”

For more information on owls and Horizon Wings, visit horizonwings.org. For more Windsor Public Library programs, visit www.windsorlibrary.com.

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