Practicing with Otus

While I was interning, I was able to spend two hours training with Otus, Piedmont Wildlife Center’s Eastern Screech Owl.

I read once that practice doesn’t make perfect.  Perfect practice makes perfect, and that’s what I had the opportunity to do today: practicing owl handling technique with Otus the Eastern Screech Owl.  While there was practice, it was not always perfect.  The conditions were less than ideal.  I had chosen to primarily work with the animal inside a back room of the cabin and minimize our time outside, where it was hot and we were both sure to be uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, construction noises outside the cabin did not exactly make the backroom an oasis of peace and tranquility for the bird either.

But ideal situations tend not to present themselves in the real world, which actually made this practice session pretty perfect.  I practiced placing Otus on and removing him from an A-frame perch, with varying degrees of success, and tying knots and untying them in order to secure his leash to the frame, which I did well.  I observed when he was going to bait and tried to get his attention in order to prevent him from doing so.  I noticed when I was rushing him and when I provided an unstable perch.  I made minor corrections on my handling technique as I took Otus for a walk, away from the noise and the stress of the surrounding environment, by relaxing my shoulders and resolving to take smaller, more sure-footed steps.

The times that Otus baited I did handle pretty perfectly, feeling more confident than when asking Otus to perform when all was well.  The final test was putting all that practice to work when I placed Otus back into his cage.  Singlehanded, I removed the leash from his jesses.  I lowered my body and his toward the ground in order to approach his perch with nary a flutter from the bird.  I turned my hand towards the perch and opened it up, placing the owl smoothly on its perch.  Perfection.

Simple and Fun Volunteer Experience

Sunday, at Duke Garden’s Family Fun Day, I road-tested one of the outreach opportunities I’ve been posting, and I can now personally confirm that it’s a fun and easy way for new volunteers to help educate our community about wildlife conservation. Many new volunteers have expressed trepidation about trying this volunteer role, wondering if they will be asked questions about wildlife they can’t answer. On Sunday, besides one woman who held up her camera for me to identify the moths she’d photographed, all the questions were very simple:

“What kind of snake is that?”
“Black Rat Snake.”

“Does Walter [the bearded dragon] breathe fire?”
“We haven’t yet witnessed that, but we were surprised when he laid eggs!”

We also have an outreach packet, linked on the event page, that gives more detailed instruction for outreach volunteers, and you are always welcome to visit our animal educators at the center and learn more of their stories. The center is open Monday-Friday 10:00 am- 6 pm.