Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! I hope the New Year is going well for you all. I am happy to say that it going well for the owls and my work with them. Sarah is now past the two week point of nesting and it is likely, if all has gone well, that she has laid her eggs. Here she is flying out of the 11/13 Nest Hollow on January 7, 2013.
Charles continues to fulfill his role of food provider and nest sentry. Here is Charles (right) giving Sarah (left) some prey that he had just caught and partially eaten on January 5, 2013.
In my recent post about reaching my seventh year of owl observation and documentation, I mentioned that in 2012 I gave seven talks on the owls and my work them to a variety of organizations and audiences. I am happy to say that I already have three planned for 2013 and hopefully more to come. The first talk will be next week, Thursday, January 24, 2013 from 7:00-8:00pm at the Maplewood Public Library in nearby Maplewood, Missouri. I would be honored to see you there! Here are links to the library's FAQ with directions to the library (it is both easy and tricky to get there!) and a brochure for the talk itself.
The genesis of the talk was a phone call from this library's Program Director, Dawn Yourtee. She called me in the summer of 2012 and asked me if I would be interested in giving a talk at the library in the new year.. I immediately and enthusiastically accepted her offer. After we discussed details such as format, AV equipment and the like I asked how she had heard of the owls and my work them. Dawn graciously explained that one of the library's patrons had been to one of my talks and generously raved about it to Dawn. It is always heartening to hear that one opportunity generates a subsequent one. I thanked Dawn and we agreed to stay in touch as the months went by before the talk.
During this time, she contacted me with the above flyer to which I made a few corrections and suggestions, which she kindly approved. Later on she asked me if I had any items that might be suitable for a display case at the library. I replied that thanks to a solid and consistent number of appearances in a variety of publications along with thank you notes, pictures and other ephemera that I had good and appropriate content for a display case. With Dawn's help I set up the materials in the case in December and here's what it looks like. The case is immediately to the right of the library's doors.
I hope to see many of you next week, January 24, 2013, at this talk. If you can't make it, I will let you know about the other talks I have coming up this year right here on this blog. Thanks for reading!
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I will be honored to be there, Mark! Can't wait to attend another one of your magnificent talks about the work you have done with the owls. I am also honored that you put two of the books I made for you in the display case. The display looks great!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Brenda. Glad you were able to make it! Of course I would put the books you made in the display case-if I hadn't I would need my head examined!
DeleteEnjoyed the talk and the amazing footage! If you haven't seen it, you might like this article from the 1940's available at Project Gutenberg:
ReplyDeleteTitle: The Postnatal Development of Two Broods of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus)
Link: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35118
Thank you for the kind words, Joyce. I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much. Many thanks for the article-it's always great to have more research/reference materials!
DeleteYou have a great website. Over the past month a small group of like minded people have been following a pair of GHO's here in Dallas, Texas. Within the last week, we have found their probable nesting tree trunk and tonight observed them breeding. They are very tolerant of people and live in a city park. I was wondering if there was anything you could suggest we do? The others who know about this are either professional wildlife photographers, retired professional photojournalists or me, an idiot. We have sworn each other to secrecy and have a very strict code of ethics. Any help is appreciated as we would love to document the site but do not want to intrude on the owls.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the kind words and enthusiasm! That's great that you have been following a pair of GHOs in Dallas and keeping a safe, discreet outlook on your activities. No idiot are you! Please e-mail me at mglenshaw@gmail.com and I will be more than happy to provide you with many tips, suggestions and the like. I was lucky enough to view GHO and other owl specimens last year at the Museum of Nature & Science when I was in Dallas.
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