Tonight is the first of two owl talks I have this week. I hope you can make one or both of these talks!
The first talk is tonight, Wednesday, July 15 for Gateway Greeningas part of theirPints 'n Plants lecture series. This will be my second talk for this lecture series and I am grateful to Gateway Greening for having me back. This general talk on the owls is from 6:30-7:30pm at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company,4465 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO, 63110 in the Grove neighborhood. Urban Chestnut makes great beer and their Bier Hall's food has had some amazing reviewslike this one. Owls, beer and food-what a great combination!
My second talk this week is a more specific one on a rather meaty subject. It is "Forest Park Owls: Hunting and Feeding", 11:00am, Saturday, July 18, 2015, St. Louis Country Library-Cliff Cave Branch, 5430 Telegraph Rd., Oakville, MO 63129. This is my third talk at this branch in south St. Louis County. I have been lucky to present at several SLCL locations but this will be the first time I have given three talks at the same branch. Not the last though:)
I rushed home after my interview, changed into my go-to-the-park clothes and headed to Forest Park to look for the owls. The first owl I found was the older owlet, Grace, and she was perched right on the ground between The Fallen Tree and The Newer Fallen Tree. I loved watching her look all around demonstrating the amazing neck flexibility of owls.
My appearance on Growing Green St. Louison KTRS The Big 550AM aired on Saturday, July 11, and it is now online here: http://www.ktrs.com/growing-green-st-louis/Thank you for listening! My thanks to Jean Ponzi for inviting me on her show and for her great questions and enthusiasm.
As a reminder I have two owl talks this week. I hope you can make one or both of these talks!
The first talk is on Wednesday, July 15 for Gateway Greeningas part of theirPints 'n Plants lecture series. This will be my second talk for this lecture series and I am grateful to Gateway Greening for having me back. This general talk on the owls is from 6:30-7:30pm at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company,4465 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO, 63110 in the Grove neighborhood. Urban Chestnut makes great beer and their Bier Hall's food has had some amazing reviewslike this one. Owls, beer and food-what a great combination!
My second talk this week is a more specific one on a rather meaty subject. It is "Forest Park Owls: Hunting and Feeding", 11:00am, Saturday, July 18, 2015, St. Louis Country Library-Cliff Cave Branch, 5430 Telegraph Rd., Oakville, MO 63129. This is my third talk at this branch in south St. Louis County. I have been lucky to present at several SLCL locations but this will be the first time I have given three talks at the same branch. Not the last though:)
We are in the midst of a heatwave in St. Louis so I think some cool footage of the owls shot during cooler weather may bring some relief. In late November-early December I was able to film, on several nights, Charles and Sarah ejecting pellets. What was especially note-worthy was the size of the pellets they ejected. Here's Charles on December 1 ejecting the largest pellet I have ever seen an owl expel.
While a slightly smaller pellet, Sarah's efforts here on December 4 are intense so as to removed this veritable torpedo of fur, bones and other indigestible bits.
Some excellent media coverage on the owls and my work with them is coming up in the near future. This Saturday, July 11 at 3:00PM CST, an interview with yours truly will air on KTRS The Big 550AM I went to the KTRS studios yesterday and was honored to be the guest of Jean Ponzi on her superb show, Growing Green St. Louis.Jean is a leading expert, exponent and educator on all matters relating to sustainability, biodiversity, and more. I have had the pleasure of attending a couple of her talks and she is beyond informative, fun and engaging. We had a blast talking about the owls and my work with them and I cannot wait for you all to hear it! A few days after Saturday's broadcast, it will be online and I will be sure to have a link to it on this blog under the collection of links on the right side of the page.
One radio appearance with Jean Ponzi is a thrill, honor and a pleasure but she is having me on her second program, the podcast Earthworms on KDHX 88.1FM. We will have the interview on Tuesday, July 14 and the podcast will be up later that night. I will also link to that podcast when it is up and available.
The timing of these radio appearances is superb as I have two talks on the owls next week. The first talk is on Wednesday, July 15 for Gateway Greening as part of their Pints 'n Plants lecture series. This will be my second talk for this lecture series and I am grateful to Gateway Greening for having me back. This general talk on the owls is from 6:30-7:30pm at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company ,4465 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO, 63110 in the Grove neighborhood. Urban Chestnut makes great beer and their Bier Hall's food has had some amazing reviews like this one. Owls, beer and food-what a great combination!
My second talk next week is a more specific one on a rather meaty subject. It is "Forest Park Owls: Hunting and Feeding", 11:00am, Saturday, July 18, 2015, St. Louis Country Library-Cliff Cave Branch, 5430 Telegraph Rd., Oakville, MO 63129. This is my third talk at this branch in south St. Louis County. I have been lucky to present at several SLCL locations but this will be the first time I have given three talks at the same branch. Not the last though:)
In much of the social media world Thursdays are a time to post old photos, videos and stories thus turning the day into Throwback Thursday. The following was something I wanted to post immediately after it happened but time did not allow. I hope you will agree that it is better late than never. On April 20, 2015 I headed into the owls' territory. The previous day and night was blustery and windy. Soon after arriving I found Sarah she flew to one of the trees in The Middle Conifers. Over the years I saw her both cache and un-cache prey in this particular tree. As you can see the tree has a large crotch at the top of it.
She began to look in this crotch of the tree undoubtedly seeking cached prey to feed the growing and ever-hungry owlets . [Be sure to double click on the pictures to see a larger version]
Not finding what she sought she walked out to a nearby branch. For all their grace in flight, Great Horned Owls walk with comic awkwardness.
She continued to look all around.
As she looked around she gave me a great view of her massive talons.
Sarah flew to an adjacent conifer to look from a different angle and perspective. By now I was more than convinced that the windy conditions had disrupted the contents of Sarah's prey pantry.
Not having any luck from this new spot, she flew closer to her original tree but landed much closer to the ground.
Watch what happened next!
Once on the ground, Sarah looked carefully around her. Anytime I see the owls on the ground they are the personifications of acute caution and awareness. Despite their size and power, they are most vulnerable when on the ground.
As you will see all of her efforts were worth it! What an owl and owl mother!
She landed at the edge of The Wooded Area and gave the prey to one of the owlets, most likely Grace.
Grace had some challenges feeding on what her mother gave her but that is a story for another time.
To arrange an owl prowl or an owl talk, please e-mail me at mglenshaw@gmail.com
My name is Mark H.X. Glenshaw and I am an award-winning naturalist. I focus my attention both in the field and in the library on the wildlife found in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. A gem of an urban park, Forest Park hosts a startling and consistently increasing range and depth of wildlife. I have closely observed and documented the activities of a male Great Horned Owl, his mates and their offspring since late December 2005. I have named the male: Charles. This observation and documentation and the related research are the most challenging, rewarding, stimulating and complex undertaking I have ever undertaken. I lead owl prowls and give talks on these owls for groups and individuals. Thanks for reading!
Upcoming Public Owl Presentations (I also do private owl presentations for many different groups
FREE, in-person, public, all-ages program, "Forest Park Owls: Hunting and Feeding", Saturday, November 9, 2024, 1:00pm, C.E. Brehm Memorial Public Library District, 101 South 7th Street, Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864, 618-242-6322, mtvbrehm.org
FREE, in-person, public, all-ages program, "Forest Park Owls: Hiding In Plain Sight", Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 6:00pm, St. Louis Public Library-Schlafly Branch, 225 North Euclid Avenue, St. Louis Missouri 63108 (314) 367-4120, Registration is required. To register, please visit: tinyurl.com/2v9kcfxk
FREE, in-person, public, all-ages program, "Great Horned Owls: Mating, Nesting and Owlets", Saturday, November 16, 2:00pm, Decatur Public Library, 120 US-51-BR, Decatur, Illinois 62523, 217-424-2900 This talk is generously sponsored by the Decatur Area Audubon Society, facebook.com/share/19LBSEESUx
FREE, in-person, public, all-ages program, "Great Horned Owls: Mating, Nesting and Owlets", Saturday, November 23, 11:00am, Giant City State Park Visitors Center, 235 Giant City Road, Makanda, Illinois, 62958 Registration is required. To register, please call: 618-457-4836 This talk is generously sponsored by the Friends of Giant City Park
Links and blogs I like about owls, Forest Park and wildlife
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