News

Owls Rule South Loop

The three of them sit together, eyes closed, heads nestled down to their chests, sleeping. The middle one stirs when a car honks its horn, but otherwise, the trio seems undisturbed. This group of long-eared owls, technically called a parliament, is not in a national park, or even a forest preserve. They’re living in a cluster of pine trees at a South Loop playground.

The owls draw a small following, even while sleeping. Long-eared owls are nocturnal, which in this case gives both the curious and the avid bird watchers a rare chance to observe the owls up close during the daytime.

The owls are making an impression on the nearby South Loop School. Intermediate Special Education Teacher Kimberly Pilot’s students have been so interested in the owls that she has worked them into her curriculum.

“We have taken trips outside to see the owls,” said Pilot, who also taught her students about the owls’ pellets. “The students were amazed to find full skulls of moles, mice, and birds along with various other identifiable artifacts that were in the pellets. It connected the students’ learning to their own community.”

Why the long-eared owls chose to roost in the South Loop is a mystery.

“They found enough cover in the pine trees, not the most concealing place, but enough,” said Laurel Ross, The Field Museum’s Urban Conservation Director. “Some people thought there was only one kind of owl. This is a fun opportunity to teach people about habitat.”

Since gaining media attention in late December, the owls have lost some of their anonymity. The news cameras and reporters have left some wondering if the attention is hurting or helping the owls.

Doug Stotz, conservation ecologist at The Field Museum, has mixed feelings on the topic of publicity versus protection. Protection took precedence when a whooping crane took up residence in Chicago’s Washington Park. But in this instance and with these birds, Stotz feels differently.

“In this case, there’s already a lot of activity in the area,” Stotz said. “The owls are used to a high level of disturbance. The education level has been high — people are amazed at the fact that there are owls there. The educational benefits are worth it.”

Stotz emphasized that long-eared owls aren’t the only wildlife living in the city. “The owls are a really impressive bit of wildlife in the city,” he said, “but especially during migration, there are hundreds of animals.”

Organizations such as the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District, The Field Museum, Chicago Wilderness, the Illinois Audubon Society, and others have been actively protecting and creating habitat for birds through measures such as the Urban Conservation Treaty for Migratory Birds in 2000 and the 2006 Bird Agenda.

— Shelli Bruno