World Bird Sanctuary releases 1,000th owl into the wild

Posted 11/7/19

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World Bird Sanctuary releases 1,000th owl into the wild

Posted Thursday, November 7, 2019 1:17 pm

Since 1981, World Bird Sanctuary has been breeding and releasing American Barn owls in the state of Missouri due to a drastic drop in overall population, but more specifically in the Midwest region.The American barn owl is key to a balanced ecosystem here in the United States. They are incredibly important to rodent control; each adult bird eating an average of 2,000 mice each year.The drop in population is attributed to two main problems: secondary poisoning from domestic and commercial rodent poisons and habitat loss (older trees and open fields of short grass with hedgerows).The solution to these problems is education about alternatives to rodent control, education about and construction of nest boxes, and propagation to release.In an effort to boost the wild population while educating the public about their fragile existence, World Bird Sanctuary has bred and released these birds yearly for the past 35 years.This May, the World Bird Sanctuary released its 1,000th American barn owl bred and raised right at its sanctuary in Valley Park. The owls that were released were siblings and will now take residence in the local farmer Ben Avis’ barn.Over time, the owls will slowly venture out over the following weeks and acclimate themselves to a purely wild existence. This process is called “hacking.” We have been using Ben’s barn for many successful years of hacking our barn owls.For more information visit worldbirdsanctuary.org or call 636-225-4390.The mission of World Bird Sanctuary is to preserve the Earth’s biological diversity and to secure the future of threatened bird species in their natural environments. We work to fulfill this mission through education, propagation, field studies and rehabilitation.

Dawn Griffard holding one of the wild owls. Bill Barrett photo.

Bill Barrett

World Bird Sanctuary releases 1,000th owl into the wild

World Bird Sanctuary releases 1,000th owl into the wild

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World Bird Sanctuary releases 1,000th owl into the wild

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World Bird Sanctuary releases 1,000th owl into the wild