Owls swoop into butterfly conservatory
Birds of prey have arrived at Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.
Northern Owls, a travelling exhibit from the Royal Ontario Museum, will let some of the bird kingdom’s most fierce hunters spread their wings at the Niagara Falls attraction.
It opened Monday and continues to April 17.
Butterfly conservatory curator Cheryl Tyndall says the show, which features 11 different specimens of northern owls, is one of three exhibitions this year that will look at the area’s heritage for Canada 150.
“We were taking a look around, and we decided we would start with what’s in the sky,” she says.
Mounted birds on display include the snowy owl, great horned owl and Northern Saw-whet owl. Live birds will be on hand for indoor displays Feb. 25, March 4 and 25, and April 1 and 8. Free outdoor raptor displays and demonstrations — which include a bald eagle — will take place Feb. 18 to 20; March 11, 12, 15 and 18, and April 15 and 22.
The exhibition is presented in three sections — Feathers, Hunters by Nature and The Ultimate Northern Owl — and is meant to illuminate some lesser-known aspects of the behaviours, biology and lifestyle of owls.
Live birds will come from the Port Dover-based Canadian Raptor Conservancy. Two live owls and a Bald Eagle were on hand for the exhibit’s opening Monday morning.
Sporting a great horned owl named Jack on his left arm, raptor trainer Matt Morgan must constantly watch for people wanting to pet the birds. They may look cute and fluffy, but they’re not to be trifled with.
“Birds of prey aren’t really social animals, so they don’t really like to be touched,” he says. “It’s just not something they understand.”
Though he only weighs two-and-ahalf pounds, Jack can do major damage with his talons. Once he clamps on he can exert a force of about 450 pounds per square inch.
“If you look pound-for-pound in terms of how small he is and how powerful he is, he even outranks the saltwater crocodile.”
With a petite barn owl named Joe, trainer Shauna Cowan says their population has dropped in Ontario because of loss of habitat, but some have been spotted in Niagara.
Their incredible sense of hearing makes them efficient rodent hunters, she says.
“For the most part, they’re not bugging humans. They’re doing us a huge favour.”
The exhibition is included with admission to the butterfly conservatory ($14.55 adults, $9.45 children).