Owls: Rock stars of the avian world

Some animals have star power, some don't. Great horned owls definitely have it. They're superstars, and a pair of owlets at Fabyan Forest Preserve are bound to get Oscars this year.

Here's the scoop: This year, as in previous years, an owl family took up residence in a large hollow tree at Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva. Like many stars, they weren't discovered by the masses right away. This year was their big break. When two owlets poked their homely little heads up in April, word of their whereabouts spread, and owl-mania exploded.

Every day people flocked to the nest site. Some came from as far away as Chicago. They gathered at the base of the tree in droves. Most people came to ooh and ahh, but some came to peek and to pry. Forest preserve district police erected a snow fence to keep people from getting too close to the tree. A few days later, the barrier was moved farther back in an effort to further protect the owls.

One person hauled a ladder over the fence to get as close as possible to the nest. Some spectators were loud and disruptive, hooting at the owls and carrying on. People cheered when the owlets did something, like turn their heads. These people seemed to have mistaken a forest preserve for a circus.

When the owlets left the nest for the first time, the crowd was all atwitter, in more than one sense of the word. Flightless birds on the ground were a temptation. Some good-intentioned people worried that the owlets had tragically fallen out of the nest and needed help. This was not an accident, however, and the owls didn't really need help. This is what owlets do, and they've been doing it for thousands of years.

When they fledge, they land on the ground, clumsily teeter around, then climb and hop on tree limbs. All the while, the protective parent owls are nearby keeping an eye on them, talons poised.

Public concern over the fledglings was so great, however, that the district erected a platform on the side of the tree. This was partly to assist the owlets in returning to the nest, but also to protect them from the crowds. Wildlife management is essentially people management.

The paparazzi were relentless. People approached the nest site daily, armed with binoculars, spotting scopes, cellphones and cameras on tripods. A conservative estimate is that 50 to 75 people a day came the first week of fledging.

Kane County Audubon, a group committed to the well-being of birds in the wild, asked its members to volunteer their time at Fabyan, helping to educate the public about great horned owls. The forest preserve district's natural resources staff visited the site several times to interpret owl behavior to the fans. The district police showed up for crowd control. Naturalists talked to the throngs as well.

Clearly, stardom has its up sides and its downsides. Is it possible to be loved to death by your fans? The origin of the word fan is fanatic, and people can definitely be that. Not every fan has the best interests of the star in mind. This is the case of the people who have harassed the owls and intruded into their space.

I think the majority of people, however, are just curious. They're in awe when they see the owls. This may be the first time they've ever seen wildlife up close. For many, it's an "Ah-ha!" moment for them.

What is the appeal of these goofy-looking birds? Great horned owls are common birds, and they nest every year in Illinois. In fact, they are widely distributed across North America. Chances are, you've passed by a great horned owl nest and not even known it.

But owls have charisma that other animals don't have. One day last week when I mingled with the crowd at Fabyan, I heard a Northern Parula warbler singing its heart out in the treetops. This is an awesome little bird, migrating from its tropical wintering grounds to nesting territories as far as Manitoba, Canada. We have a small window of opportunity to see it in May as it stops to fuel up on insects during migration. I pointed out the warbler to some of the people ogling at the owls.

"Listen!" I exclaimed. "Hear that? It's a Northern Parula singing. A really cool little bird - there it is!" No takers.

Then I pointed out some larger, easier to see, birds on the river.

"Wow, check out those terns flying over the water. They're called Caspian terns. Look at them dive for fish!" I said. One man took notice, but turned right back to the owls.

Owls are cool, don't get me wrong. They're ecologically important. But, so are the warblers and the terns. So are sparrows, orioles, tanagers, egrets, thrashes, sandpipers - and even crows.

Owls, more than many other birds, really strike a chord with people. Maybe it's a primal thing. Owls have long played a role in the history and folklore of cultures worldwide. Perhaps the fascination with owls is programmed in us.

The appeal of the Fabyan owls may be the novelty of seeing something that you don't ordinarily see. Being nocturnal, many owls go undetected by us light-loving creatures. The Fabyan owls were not only visible in daytime, they were in full view. The nest is in an open, mowed area with a great view from a picnic shelter. The junior owls' size and location made them easy for even non-birdwatchers to see.

Another factor in the Fabyan owl craze might be nosiness encouraged by technology. Nest cams and other high-tech electronics make it possible to peer into the private lives of animals. People are used to seeing inside eagle nests, coyote dens, rabbit warrens, and even termite mounds - on a screen or television. We've all become spies. Nest cams and recording devices are helpful in research and teaching, but it's not always OK to get into animals' space. Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

The universal appeal of owls is a double-edge sword. It's great that people love them, regardless of the motives. The challenge is to not love them to death. We need to respect all native animals, even the ones that are not film sensations. And, we have to remember that wild animals don't perform for us. They do their thing, and we may or may not get to watch them. If we do, it's a treat. If not, it adds to the mystery of the wild. Sometimes we don't have to know - and see - everything.

The great horned owl nest at Fabyan Forest Preserve has brought out the good and the not-so-good in people. I think the good outweighs the bad. The owl nest has presented a wonderful learning opportunity for hundreds of people. The Fabyan owls have reached people in a way that digitized nature cannot. They may be the first real and tangible wild animals that some people have seen. They've done more than pique curiosity; they've inspired wonderment. For many, this could be the beginning of a lifetime of conservation and stewardship.

• Valerie Blaine is the nature programs manager for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. You can reach her by emailing blainevalerie@kaneforest.com.

Love owls? Here's how to help them

What's the best way to show your enthusiasm for owls? Protect their habitat! Great horned owls benefit from high-quality woodlands with plenty of nesting sites, and lots of food. You can help restore and protect habitat for these awesome birds and a host of other wildlife. Participate in a volunteer restoration workday at a preserve near you. Here are a few of the opportunities this month:

• Raceway Woods Forest Preserve, Dundee Township: 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, May 13

• Lone Grove Forest Preserve, Kaneville: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 16

• LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, St. Charles: 9:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 19

• Johnson's Mound Forest Preserve, Elburn: 9- 11 a.m. Thursday, May 21

• Bliss Woods Forest Preserve, Sugar Grove: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 23

• Glenwood Park Forest Preserve, Batavia: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 23

For details, visit <a href="http://www.kaneforest.com">kaneforest.com</a> and select "Volunteer Opportunities."