Wildlife Exploration: An Unexpected Wetland Neighbor

We hosted a wetland wildlife exploration this month in partnership with the Center for Wildlife, marking our first public education program at our new headquarters! We discovered bullfrog tadpoles and mayfly nymphs in the pond next to our property, and guest-educator Katie introduced us to three live animal ambassadors representing wetland environments of southern Maine. These fascinating creatures included a three-toed box turtle named Lily and a painted turtle named Blossom.

The third ambassador was perhaps a more unexpected wetland resident, without scaly skin or even the ability to swim: He was a barred owl named Byron.

Though we may not immediately associate owls with wetlands, Katie explained that these raptors do like to perch above ponds and vernal pools looking for food in Maine forests. They use their sharp sense of hearing to scope out prey, their flat face acting like a satellite dish collecting sounds below.

With Byron perched on her gloved hand, Katie gently pulled back a flap of feathered skin covering Byron’s right ear, revealing what remarkably resembled a human ear underneath. She says that the birds rely far more on these ears than their big eyes to find food at night, and showed us how small serrations on owl wings help make their flapping nearly soundless as they approach prey.

Katie reminded us that many barred owls also hunt for food along roads at night, with dozens of owl collisions occurring in Maine each year. One way to help owls stay safe and off roads is to refrain from throwing food out your car window, since food scraps attract their prey onto roads, Katie explained.

This is especially important in southern York County, where barred owls are commonly found and can be heard singing their classic Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you aaaall? calls at night. (If you’d like training in making this sound yourself, we recommend Katie as a teacher. She nearly fooled us with her iteration of it!)

We’re so excited to be able to host education programs at our new headquarters, and look forward to sharing more events like this one with the community.