Barn Owl

We do not get Barn Owls in Alberta. The only one I had seen was at the Calgary Zoo, very high up in the rafters of the Conservatory. It was then moved to the Nocturnal House at the Zoo - not much hope of seeing it in some pitch black corner!

However, on Monday, I spent a wonderful day with a friend who had asked if I'd like to go to the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, southern Alberta. It was just over a two-hour drive there and the temperature down south was 37C (roughly 106F)! They have injured birds there and they use them for educational purposes or to release back into the wild if possible.

This Centre is "Canada’s largest birds of prey facility. Situated on a 70-acre wetland area site, the centre is a celebration of nature featuring the hawks, falcons, eagles and owls of Alberta. Throughout the site and along the pathways, a number of birds of prey are sitting on their perches only feet away from visitors. These birds are all in various stages of training and receive lots of exercise in the daily flying programs. At the centre, they have one of North America's largest captive breeding populations for the endangered Burrowing Owl."

They have four Barn Owls there - I find them SO creepy, even though I love owls! They were all in open-fronted little wooden shelters, tethered, so the lighting was a bit difficult to deal with. Will gradually upload a few more photos of them, as they are all so different. I was surprised at how small Barn Owls are - I had pictured them to be so much larger. They were also much darker than I had realized.

"Barn Owls have a notable shreee scream, ear-shattering at close range. They also hiss like snakes. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defence." The Barn Owl flies silently. Its ears are placed asymmetrically for maximum hearing, so the owls do not require sight to hunt. They can target and dive down to sink their talons through snow, grass or brush and seize rodents with deadly accuracy. Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, they consume more rodent pests than possibly any other creature. This makes the Barn Owl one of the most economically valuable wildlife animals to farmers (not in Alberta). Farmers often encourage Barn Owls to stay around by providing nest sites. They are fairly sedentary and nocturnal" Wikipedia.