Kids become 'honorary owls' at library event

A lucky bunch of local kids found themselves declared “honorary owls” at the Owatonna Public Library’s latest animal program.

Jo Severson, an educator from the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota, visited the library Thursday morning, bringing along a great horned owl named Ruby for kids to meet.

With a wingspan of four feet, Ruby weighs a mere four pounds. Despite their size, great horned owls are mostly hollow bones and fluff, with around 12,000 feathers.

While kids marveled at Ruby’s massive eyes and distinctive ear tufts, Severson said they weren’t likely to hear the bird’s distinctive hoots. — she’s typically quiet unless annoyed, and hoots are essentially her way of swearing.

Severson promised the audience that they would be “honorary owls” by the end of the program, so long as they learned the crucial skills and knowledge of how to be an owl.

As it turns out, humans and owls have a few things in common. Both are altricial, i.e. helpless at birth. Species that can fend for themselves immediately are known as precocial.

Severson told the kids that the birds at the owl center like to play with toys and annoy their siblings, something many in the audience could relate to. Showing the kids a video of a juvenile owl awkwardly screeching, Severson noted that owls experience voice cracks in puberty just like humans.

Hooting was one of the big skills kids had to learn. Severson showed off their impressive imitation skills, demonstrating the sounds of several owl species and inviting the kids to follow along.

Flying is another owl skill that humans struggle with. However, even owls aren’t born knowing how to fly. Before they can take to the air, they build up their muscles and practice their balance by flapping their wings, or “wingercizing,” which the kids mimicked.

Avoiding predators is another skills the kids had to learn. When owls spot a predator, they stretch their bodies out to appear long and thin, blending in with tree trunks. If a predator sees them anyway, they do the opposite — puffing out their feathers to appear large and threatening.

Severson also taught the kids about owl hygiene. Owls use a gland at the base of their tail to smear oil on their feathers, keeping them healthy and clean. That was one of the skills Severson did not ask the kids to practice, as well as coughing up pellets.

“I am not going to have you practice this. That would be pretty gross,” they joked.

However, gross was not a deal-breaker for the kids, which became apparent when Ruby defecated on a tarp. After the program wrapped up and Ruby was back in her carrier, a throng of kids gathered around for a closer look at the splatter.

“My favorite part was when I got to go up and see the owl poop and I got to see the owl’s eyes through the holes in the box,” said Blair Grunwald, age 7.

Violet Hamer, 9, had only seen owls at the zoo before. She was especially impressed with Severson’s ability to mimic owl hoots, and was intrigued by the way owls clean their feathers.

Ben Gardner, 8, enjoyed seeing Ruby flap her wings, and was surprised to learn that larger owl species tend to live much longer than smaller ones. The oldest owl at the center is 27, though she’s begun to develop arthritis and cataracts. Smaller owls tend to only reach 10 to 15 years old.

Children’s Librarian Darla Lager noted that animal programs are consistently some of the best attended events at the library. The owl center previously visited the library last year.