Owls Will Be At The Library Tomorrow Night!!!

Have you ever seen an owl up close and personal? Tomorrow night is your chance! The Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission has arranged for the Raptor Trust to give a FREE talk on the Owls of New Jersey. The Raptor Trust (theraptortrust.org) is one of the leading Raptor Rehabilitation centers in the United States. The talk is sure to be incredibly interesting, but the best part is that they are bringing one of New Jersey's owls for everyone see! This is an amazing opportunity to learn about these awesome owls that are rarely seen. And, like all Friends programs, the talk is FREE. More details are on the Friends website at www.friendsebec.com.

Over the years, I've been fortunate to find most of New Jersey's owls. No matter how many times I see an owl, it is as cool as the first time! In my backyard near the High School, Great Horned owls can be heard calling in late winter every year. Once in awhile they are even seen at dusk or during the day when small birds mob them and give away their hiding spot. Every few years, we are also treated to the plaintive call of the Screech owl. I suspect they might roost in the hollow apple trees at the Old Apple Orchard Natural Area at the High School behind the tennis courts but I've never been able to confirm it.

I've attached a few photos that I took in Middlesex County of two of our owls including our smallest, the Sawwhet owl and our largest, the Great Horned owl. I've also been fortunate to have two papers published about owls by The New Jersey Audubon Society and they are also attached.Enjoy!

The Great Horned owl and Screech owl are probably the only owls expected to be found with any regularity in East Brunswick, and certainly the only ones likely to nest in town. The Sawwhet owl is only a migrant or winter visitor and much less common then the other two. There are three other owls that also might be found in East Brunswick from time to time; the Long Eared owl, the Short Eared owl and the Snowy Owl. If Long Eared owls occur in town, a good place to look for them would be in the winter in our cemeteries that have good stands of planted evergreens. They often spend the winter roosting in evergreens. The Short Eared owl is quite rare and has been declining for many years now throughout the entire northeast. The Snowy Owl is an occasional winter visitor to our area moving from more northerly areas when snow andor low prey densities make hunting difficult. When it is found in New Jersey it is usually seen just sitting out in the daytime and quite a few Snowy Owls have been reported in New Jersey already this winter. The most likely place for either of these birds to show up in East Brunswick are in the large tidal marshes along the Raritan River near the landfill or at Keystone Park along the South River. 

Please let us know if you find any owls in East Brunswick by emailing us at friends.ebec@gmail.com. If you do find an owl its best not to publicize the location as they are often quite sensitive to disturbance.