20 Jun Helping an Owl Be an Owl (Even on a Stage)
Our job as conservation educators is to properly prepare an owl for a life of being comfortable around unusual situations — while still preserving their owlness.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. Owls are incredibly specialized predators. The way they forage in low light conditions relies just as much on hearing as it does on sight. They know their home turf down to the inch. Move them into unfamiliar territory, and you might notice… they don’t move much at all.
That’s why this past week, as we’ve been preparing for a big flight program in Lubbock, Texas, I’ve been thinking a lot about how different owls are from the rest of our team. Don’t get me wrong — I love a good hawk sprint or a raven antic as much as anyone. But owls remind us that education isn’t one-size-fits-all.
And they don’t let you forget it.
Owls teach us patience. They remind us that not every bird is going to blast into the sky the second the crate opens. Sometimes the work is quieter. More subtle. They sit. They wait. They make decisions. And that’s a good thing. It’s part of what makes them so magnetic in a program.
But it also means we have to meet them differently.
With our hawks, macaws, condor, even the raven, we know what kind of response we’re likely to get in a new space. With an owl? You might get majestic stillness. You might get a slow blink and a decision to call it a day right there on the glove.
That’s not a training failure — that’s an owl being an owl.
Our job is to build up their confidence in small, meaningful ways so they can participate in education programs without losing that spark of wildness. We use environmental management, choice-based sessions, and species-specific support so that when they step into the light, they’re ready… or at least willing.
Sometimes they even surprise us.
Of course, every so often, a hawk will try to take on a squirrel (spoiler: she can’t — the squirrel won), or a chicken will decide the stage is hers now. And the owl? She might just sit there, impossibly still, commanding the room without moving a feather.
And honestly? That might be the most powerful flight of all.