Owl Man Plans Two More Owl Talks This Year: Don't Miss Them

MISSOURI — Owl Man Mark Glenshaw will be holding two more talks before the end of the year to discuss his work studying great horned owls in Forest Park, and they're not to be missed. An award-winning amateur naturalist, Glenshaw spends more than 300 evenings a year watching the owls, leading public owl tours or giving public and private talks across Missouri and Illinois.

"There's just something about owls," Glenshaw told Patch earlier this year. "Across human history and cultures, people respond to owls very strongly. They kind of look like us. They have binocular vision, eyes on the front of their faces. So, they're this odd mirror that gets odder because they're active at night. Some of them make very odd, strange and scary calls. So, we recognize them, but they're very different, and we have to respond to that."

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Glenshaw's next talk, titled "Great Horned Owls: Hiding in Plain Sight," is scheduled for Thursday, December 13 at the Livingston County Library in Chillicothe, Missouri. He will cover basic facts about the owls, including behaviors he's documented firsthand.

After that, and a little closer to home, Glenshaw will teach you how to find an owl in your own neighborhood. That talk will be held Monday, December 17, at 7 p.m. at the Kirkwood Public Library. Glenshaw will show you where and how to look for owls and teach you what to listen for, as well as discuss which owl species are most common and the importance of collaborative research.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Read more about the Owl Man who prowls Forest Park by night here.

Photo by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch