A veteran of the Owls on Tour program, the tiny ground-dwelling raptor held court in the centre’s gazebo throughout the day, placidly greeting all comers young and old during the Family Day Barbecue and Open House.
And like Gale, Cookie and Piper before him, he was a perfect ambassador for his compatriots as onlookers took part in events around him throughout the day.
“It’s the start of our 2019 season, so this is a fun family day to start the year in the right fashion,” owl coordinator Lori Johnson said as a steady stream of patrons milled through the gift shop.
“We’re always looking to get our information out, and it’s a chance to give back to the community as well as a thank you for their support. It’s kind of one of those special days where you can learn a little bit and have some fun at the same time.”
The event featured a pair of bouncy houses, face painting and a giant bubble station along with the barbecue, on top of the centre’s educational fare surrounding the owls and their nearby habitat.
The new season sees a slight decrease in the number of owls the centre cares for and watches over, but overall the numbers remain solid.
“We did suffer some losses last year, but that’s kind of the name of the game when you’re working with animals,” Johnson said. “Overall, we’ll see some slight increases and slight decreases depending on the year… they are still listed as an endangered species, but we’re not seeing the big decreases like we did in the early 80s and 90s. If we have a year where we have a good insect population the burrowing owl numbers tend to increase a bit, then the weather for breeding season can play a factor as well. So we’ll see what happens this year.”
As for the number of visitors to the centre, those numbers remain strong, as do the other activities the organization brings to the public.
“We saw an increase in our in-house numbers as well as the number of people we were reaching with our Owls on Tour program and it looks like this year we’re shaping up to beat those numbers already,” Johnson said. “The more people we can reach and tell about burrowing owls, the more likely we’re to help the species survive.”
The Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Centre is located on the Exhibition Centre grounds and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for in-house visitors and tours.
For more information, check out their website at https://www.skburrowingowl.ca/.
