International Owl Center

A cold and dreary Saturday brought on a lack of motivation and may have prevented us from seeing Sharon & Karrie while they were in the area for the weekend. I suggested we take the drive to Houston to see the owl center, and they joined us for the drive. What a wonderful place! We learned many things, such as that owls are either loved or hated depending on the cultures, some even hunted or sacrificed due to religious or superstitious beliefs. They have four captive-raised owls (Great Horned Owl "Ruby", Barn Owl "Piper", Ground Burrowing Owl "Bea", and Screech Owl "JR") that live a regimented daily life of coming to the office during the day and traveling back to their offsite enclosures every evening. The staff and volunteers also care for several injured and/or rehabilitating owls. There is a live webcam broadcast on one of their monitors showing a particular one that lost an eye ("Iris"), but she perseveres seemingly happy due to the facility's services and care. With their help, she is protected, fed, and continues living; however she would not survive if left to her own in the wild. You can watch her streaming on their website.

International Owl Center Live Webcam

The most fascinating thing was discovering all of the artwork on the walls upon entering: drawings sent in by children from all over the world. Apparently the facility is rather well-known in many countries. They have received thousands of them, proudly displaying many with the child's name, age and nationality. Many of them were done with extraordinary imagination and talent, especially at such young ages. It brought me warm feelings of jubilance and gladness, easily overcoming the woes and pains that started the day.

After the program, we enjoyed discussions with the staff and drove about the town as recommended on their scavenger hunt for varied artwork. It was a very educational and enjoyable day.

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