Learn About Stealthy Owls This Weekend

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MADISON HEIGHTS, MI – If you’re looking for an outdoor adventure this weekend, Oakland County Parks & Recreation is sponsoring “All About Owls” from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, at the Red Oaks Nature Center at 30300 Hales St. in Madison Heights.

Owls are stealthy predators and among the earliest reported nesting birds in Michigan. The program includes information about the biology of owls, what homeowners can do to provide owl habitat and a short hike, weather permitting, into Friendship Woods to experience the time when owls are active.

Participants will also be able to deconstruct an owl pellet — a telltale sign that owls are in the area. A well-known characteristic of owls, which are helpful in controlling rodent populations, is that they regurgitate a pellet after their meals.

Opening a pellet is one way to determine the identity of the prey by looking at the bones contained in the pellet.

The program is appropriate for school-aged children and adults.

The cost is $4 per person, and pre-registration with payment is required at (248) 858-0916 weekdays and (248) 585-0100 Saturdays. The program fee is non-refundable.

» Photo of barred owl by Ralph Daily, via Flickr / Creative Commons