FRANKLIN, Wis. — The Wehr Nature Center is working to raise public awareness about owls living in southeastern Wisconsin neighborhoods.

What You Need To Know

  • The Wehr Nature Center works to raise awareness about owls in Wisconsin

  • Wisconsin is native to several owl species including the eastern screech owl, the great horned own and the barred owl

  • The center hosts Owl Prowl events to allow the public an opportunity to hear them

  • The goal is to bring people directly to nature

Howard Aprill is a naturalist at the center. Aprill said one of his main goals is to teach the community about the owls.

“This is the eastern screech owl, a very common Wisconsin resident,” said Aprill. “Don’t be fooled by their small size though, because nature packs a very powerful predator in a very small package.”

He said there are five owl species that can be found in southeastern Wisconsin. Aprill also said there are even more found in other parts of the state.

“You have a really reasonable chance of catching a great horned owl, a barred owl or a screech owl, very common year-round residents,” said Aprill. “Then we get other year-round residents that migrate through. For instance, we will get the saw-whet owl that will migrate through the winter and fall and in case of the snowy owls, they’ll come down here in the wintertime.”

Aprill recently was in the woods, where the owls can be found at night.

He said the Wehr Nature Center will occasionally host Owl Prowl events to allow the public an opportunity to hear them.

“Owls vocalize for a variety of different reasons, but typically, it’s either for territorial defense and/or for courtship and reproduction,” said Aprill. “This is the time of the year when owls are starting to go through their courtship. They are starting to pair bond, so they will vocalize and they will vocalize very loudly.”

For Aprill, inviting the community to learn about owls is about bringing people directly to nature.

He said he also hopes to spark the same interest in others that he found when he first saw a great horned owl at eight years old.

“I was just mesmerized by the fact that there is thing amazing creature literally 20 feet away from me in the woods near my house. So I went to the library, got a book about birds and I eventually determined it was a great horned owl and I was amazed that that type of creature lived in my neighborhood,” said Aprill. “Ever since then, I have to admit I’ve been hooked on owls; so they have a very special place in my heart.”

That’s why he said he sees the value in sharing what owls bring to southeastern Wisconsin.

Related Stories