Meet the owls that educate Johnson County kids at nature center
Educational animals help make learning about nature an up-close and interesting experience for the many visitors to Ernie Miller Park and Nature Center. The Olathe center counts three owls and three other birds among its feathered teaching friends.
Not just any animal is suited for the job. All of the birds have had something , either an injury or from their upbringing, that makes them unable to survive in the wild.
Andrea Joslin, outdoor education director at Ernie Miller, said they get all of their birds from wildlife rescue centers, as they do not do wildlife rehab themselves. Locally, that might be Lakeside Nature Center in Kansas City or Operation Wildlife in Linwood, but some animals come from farther away.
When Ernie Miller has room, they reach out to various rehab centers to see if there’s an animal that might be right for them. For birds, a wing or eye injury often means they can’t return to the wild. Other birds might have imprinted on humans and do not know how to hunt their own food.
Once a bird is at Ernie Miller, the staff spends quite a bit of time acclimating them and getting them comfortable. Sometimes, that means a staff member sits near the enclosure and talks to them or reads a book to them.
Caring for the birds involves daily feeding, regular cleaning of the enclosures and providing lots of enrichment. Many of the birds have toys, and one even has a mirror. Going to an educational program is also stimulating for them.
Through food rewards and gradual trust-building, the birds learn to travel in a crate and to sit on a perch and a glove during a program.
Getting to know the owls
None of the birds at Ernie Miller has a name beyond its species, such as barn owl. Joslin said that helps reinforce that these animals are not pets.
Their oldest avian residents are a red-tailed hawk that is about 25 years old and an 18-year-old barred owl. The hawk had a badly broken wing that didn’t heal well, but at Ernie Miller, it could live another five to 10 years.
The owl has lived there since 2008, after an eye injury led him to be rescued by Stone Nature Center in Topeka. When he’s in his outdoor enclosure, he’s especially popular with wild female owls.
“There used to be one that would come daily. I think she could hear me unlock the enclosure, because I would take the lock off, go get him, bring him back out, and there she was, waiting. And she would start hooting — even at programs, which is great. It’s good enrichment for them to see other birds,” Joslin said.
There are actually a few bird feeders set up outside so the birds at Ernie Miller can see them through windows or through their enclosures.
The two other owls at Ernie Miller came from Milford Nature Center in Junction City. The youngest is a barn owl that was found with bite marks on her after her nest was attacked. She recovered but was too used to humans after that to be able to survive in the wild.
Both the barn owl and the center’s 14-year-old eastern screech owl were rescued as young animals. That’s a factor that often helps a bird be successful as an educational animal.
“They’re easier to train and work with,” Joslin said.
There are lots of opportunities to see one or more of the birds. Although construction on the nature center is currently preventing walk-in visits, there are programs such as their owl prowls and storytimes where you can see the birds.
They also do school visits and sometimes go to events where Ernie Miller has a table. The barred owl in particular likes to just sit on a perch at these events.
“There’s a lot of observations you can make when you’re a little bit closer that you wouldn’t see, even from 10 feet away. Generally people can get pretty close if we’ve got the bird on our gloved hand,” Joslin said.
