Posted: 3/6/07
Owls celebrated in Houston
By Tom van der Linden
Special to the Caledonia Argus
Who would have thought owls could be so popular.
People from England to Elgin flew through stormy skies and traversed snow-packed roads to make it to Houston Thursday in time for the communityís Festival of Owls.
Though Houston was deep in snow, the owl-theme signs scattered about town made navigating easier for visitors.
The crowd, and the mood, inside the high school gym was light, but educational, Saturday afternoon.
Kids looked more wide-eyed than usual, with their faces painted to look like owls. They were serious about their owl-calling skills, too, as they performed for three expert judges: Marge Gibson, a wildlife rehabilitator from Antigo, Wisconsin, Laura Erickson, who operates birderblog.com from Duluth, and Tom Warburton, from the World Owl Trust in England.
Owls make a variety of calls, from the classic "who who" to gentle trills. Emily Hencken, age 5, from Westby, wasnít afraid to stand up in front of a crowd and call into the microphone. Neither were Nathan Javrin, age 6 and Gretchen Javrin, age 8.
Every child brave enough to give an owl call a try earned a special prize: an owl pellet - a compact package of undigestible fur and bones regurgitated by owls following a meal. The kids seemed thrilled with this earthy gift.
"We baked them beforehand so they are safe," said Houston naturalist Karla Kinstler, to reassure parents.
Elsewhere on the gymnasium floor, volunteers from Friends of the Houston Nature Center were well into their weekend of chores, which started early with registration on Friday afternoon. The evening banquet, which drew well over 100 people, despite the poor weather.
Tanya Mudrick, Houston, was busy teaching Owen Kosir how to make origami folds in paper to create an owl face. Next to her at the craft table were Deb Stilin, also of Houston, and Geri (Senn) Patschull, a Hokah native who tagged along to help.
Stilin serves on the board of directors of Friends of the Nature Center. Fellow board member Brian Lee was "banding" children with rubber bands, and then explaining how bird bands work. A lightweight, then metal band, stamped with a number, is wrapped around an owls foot and then the bird is released. If the owl dies and is recovered, or netted by a biologist for study, the number shows migration movement. The saw whet owl, which is not much larger than a coffee cup, sometimes travels more than 500 miles, according to owl biologists.
Alice the Great Horned Owl, is of course, a well-known attraction in Houston County. She shared the limelight in Houston with other live owls.
Other events were aimed more at adults, including Fridayís lecture on the breeding biology of snowy owls, and "owl prowl" to call for owls in the woods (yes, they will often answer) and owl photography clinics and a unique fundraiser - a flight in a small airplane over Houston, with Alice as co-passenger.
Houston definitely wasnít "fly over" territory during this winter weekend.
The owl festival is interesting, entertaining, and, of course, a hoot.
To learn more about owls, and other interesting natural facts about the bluffs region, visit the Houston Nature Center off Highway 76 in downtown Houston. For web sites on owls: www.owlpages.com, www.owling.com, owlstuff.com and globalowlproject.com.
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