Break Out of Hibernation for Winter Night Hike in Union Township
Immediate Release
December 27, 2011
Batavia, Ohio. Enjoy the great outdoors with your family by attending the Clermont Park District’s Winter Night Hike on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Join a park naturalist at 6:30 p.m. for a moonlight stroll along the trails of Shor Park, located at 4659 Tealtown Road in Union Township. “This will be a fun discovery walk for the entire family,” said Clermont Parks’ Chief Naturalist Keith Robinson. “We will look for wildlife that is active in the cold winter air and we will be hiking with only the moon as illumination!”
Robinson said they will also play some recorded owl sounds, in hopes of spotting some native birds, including the Eastern screech, barn, barred, and great horned owls. “Not all owls hoot. In fact, many screech, whistle, bark, and even hiss,” said Robinson. “Owls are nocturnal hunters that prey on rodents, small, or medium sized mammals. They also eat fish and other birds.” He said barn owls can eat up to 1,000 mice each year; many farmers want barn owls in their fields, because they control the rodent population.
Owl eyes are enormous. “If humans had eyes to that proportion, they would be the size of softballs,” said Robinson. He said the Winter Night Hike will also feature some ways to identify owls. “The barn owl is sometimes called the ‘monkey-faced owl’ because it has a white, heart-shaped face that is monkey-like and their head is quite large compared to the rest of their body,” said Robinson. “The barn and the barred owls are the only two species of owls in Ohio that have brown eyes; the rest have yellow eyes.”
Robinson said screech owls are the most common in Ohio and the smallest of the species; they are about the size of a robin, although they are twice as heavy. “Great horned owls are the largest species in Ohio and can live for several decades,” he said. “They can take large prey for birds, including skunks and cats.” For more information about the Clermont Park District’s Winter Night Hike, call 876-9013. To watch an interview about the Winter Night Hike, visit the website www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGm9Vv2Sy6E.
Pictured above: Clermont Parks’ Chief naturalist Keith Robinson at Shor Park with a mount of a barred owl
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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Kathy Lehr at (513) 732-7597 or by e-mail, klehr@ clermontcountyohio.gov.