News & Events
Meet the Birds Who Hiss Instead of Hoot
Hissing instead of hooting isn't the most endearing way to think of these birds in need of protection--but it does make them memorable.
Wildlife biologist Jamie Flickinger, from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, visited faculty member Jim Malone's Hawk and Owl Biology class. On the agenda? the Pennsylvania Barn Owl, whom the Game Commission is watching closely and Malone is educating his students about. Seniors from Malone's class (which he dubs "the coolest class in the school") left Flickinger's lecture more attuned with this tiny, 15 inch, 1 pound bird that the Gaming Commission has deemed "vulnerable species in Pennsylvania". Flickinger explained to the class why the barn owl is vulnerable; where they build nests in this area; and that they lay eggs at unusually long intervals.
Students left the lecture expressing curiosity about Flickinger's career path, motivation towards their upcoming senior projects, and intrigue about the North American Bird Banding Association which, among other things, tracks the flight patterns of these much-loved, monkey-faced birds.
Hissing instead of hooting isn't the most endearing way to think of these birds in need of protection--but it does make them memorable.Wildlife biologist Jamie Flickinger, from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, visited faculty member Jim Malone's Hawk and Owl Biology class. On the agenda? the Pennsylvania Barn Owl, whom the Game Commission is watching closely and Malone is educating his students about. Seniors from Malone's class (which he dubs "the coolest class in the school") left Flickinger's lecture more attuned with this tiny, 15 inch, 1 pound bird that the Gaming Commission has deemed "vulnerable species in Pennsylvania". Flickinger explained to the class why the barn owl is vulnerable; where they build nests in this area; and that they lay eggs at unusually long intervals.
Students left the lecture expressing curiosity about Flickinger's career path, motivation towards their upcoming senior projects, and intrigue about the North American Bird Banding Association which, among other things, tracks the flight patterns of these much-loved, monkey-faced birds.
