State Park visitors participate in effort to catch, band owls

BY JANNA ODENTHAL, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT

Huge, round, yellow eyes pierced the darkened room. Some onlookers gasped, others sighed, as photos of a northern saw-whet owl were projected onto a large screen at the Indiana Dunes Nature Center.

A group gathered there recently for a free public program about owl banding.

Brad Bumgardner, the state park's interpretive naturalist, explained that out of 20 types of owls in the United States, only eight live in Indiana. He walked around the room with a stuffed, mounted northern saw-whet owl to give the group a closer view.

The smallest native owl, adult northern saw-whet owls are about the size of a human fist. This tiny bird hides in white cedar swamps and feasts on small mammals throughout the summer. Coniferous forests provide safe breeding grounds.

Banding the owls helps naturalists learn more about them, Bumgardner said. He explained the process of determining the bird's age, weight and sex, tracking migratory patterns and more.

"One of the things I like about this is that it's educational, it's research and it's fun, too," Bumgardner said.

A recent evening of light winds, clear skies and cold air created an ideal setting for catching the nocturnal animal. Participants drove to the park's Tremont shelter. They hiked through the darkened woods, trampling through mud, leaves and sticks, in hopes of finding the elusive owl and to check on nets set to catch it.

A homemade device, OWL-E, consisted of an MP3 player attached to a 400-watt amplifier hooked up to a car battery. It lures the owls into 36-foot-wide, 18-foot-high nets with pockets that gently catch and hold the birds.

Tim Stoltz, 15, of Valparaiso said he liked walking through the woods.

"I never heard of owl banding. It's pretty cool," he said. "The net was big, and you couldn't see it at night."

Between net checks, the group returned to the Nature Center to look for other species of night flyers. Bumgardner attracted an eastern screech owl to a nearby tree. He also discussed other varieties of owls and mimicked their calls, using his voice.

Individuals were encouraged to participate in the adopt-an-owl program, which gives a certificate, a picture of the owl, the band number, a matching band and e-mail updates about the owl.

Sara Wilmsen, 15, of Chesterton, volunteered to help with future owl banding.

"This summer was my first time helping with bird banding. It would be fun to do the banding my entire life," she said. "I just like getting real close to something that most people don't."