Even though the temps were in the teens, an adventurous group of nature lovers took to the trails of the Moebius Nature Center in Aurora in hopes of catching a glimpse of the nocturnals, specifically owls. And they weren’t disappointed! Here are two stories you will enjoy reading from a couple of the brave souls! The first is by Stacey Rauch and the second by Sheryl Gusler.
Have you ever seen an owl in the wild?
I haven’t. Well, not until this past weekend. I had only seen owls at the zoo, during educational nature programs, and at wildlife rehabilitation centers. On Saturday, January 18, Moebius Nature Center in Aurora hosted a unique event called the Family Owl Prowl.
I gathered up a few friends and we made plans to attend this event along with a live animal program earlier in the day at the West Woods Nature Center with Geauga Park District. At the West Woods, we saw a red tailed hawk, two species of turtles, an opossum, a skunk, a snake, and a great horned owl. It was really neat to see them all up close and learn about how they get around.
We had never been to the Moebius Nature Center before. We drove down the long, dark driveway, parked our car, and headed inside. We were greeted by the staff and volunteers inside the small but warm building that had condensation on all of the windows. The Nature Center has a greenhouse attached to it, so it is kept quite warm.
After all of the visitors arrived, Jim (our event leader) spoke to everyone about the different types of owls in our area and the ones we were going to be looking for that night on our hike. Everyone was all bundled up and ready to get out in the woods to find some owls. We took a trail that began just outside the nature center door.
It was only about 16 degrees outside. With the recent Wolf Moon, it actually did not take too long for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. I brought along my day/night vision binoculars to try them out at night. We ventured through the woods for about 15 minutes before arriving at our first owl spotting location. There were fallen trees closeby that made great benches for those that did not want to stand.
Our leader told us to try to stand still and be quiet, and then he would play some owl calls to see if we could get any nearby owls to respond or even fly in to check us out. First, he played a screech owl call with no response. He said he would have been surprised to bring one of those in, but he wanted to try. Next, he played the call of a barred owl.
Our group of about 30 people or so was standing facing every direction with our eyes to the skies. After just a few minutes, two barred owls were seen landing in a nearby tree. They were not heard at all. Owls are designed to fly almost silently so they do not scare what they are hunting. One owl did not stay long. A flashlight was directed into the treetops so that everyone could see the magnificent creature that decided to stick around and see what was going on.
After that owl departed, Jim asked all of us to imitate the barred owl call to see if we could get them to respond. It worked! We were able to hear a few owls calling back to us. The kids that were on the hike were very excited!
We moved on to our second location and tried to call a great horned owl. Since the kids were so excited now, it was hard to keep them quiet long enough to spot or hear any other owls. We headed back down the trail to the Nature Center to enjoy our hot chocolate and cookies that were provided by the staff.
What a great experience seeing my first owl in the wild. My boyfriend and I plan to download some calls on my phone and go to a park near our home and see if we can recreate this experience ourselves.
A fun family adventure always awaits you when visiting any one of our Ohio parks and sanctuaries. Each park is filled with activities for the young and the young at heart.
On a recent excursion to the Moebius Nature Center, my husband Duane and I, along with our grandsons Matthew and Jonathan, joined up with our friends Stacey and Trent to participate in the Moebius Nature Center’s Family Owl Prowl program.
It was our first visit to the Nature Center located at 929 E. Mennonite Rd. in Aurora, Ohio, and we were excited! Our anticipation grew stronger the closer we got to our destination, which sits way back in the woods. We found ample parking, and the Nature Center itself is wheel chair accessible. At the Center, we met with approximately 20 other nature lovers, all bundled up for the night time excursion. Being outside on such an extremely cold night, heavy coats, hats, gloves, boots, and scarves were a must!
Dr. Jim Tomko, President of Moebius Nature Center, gave a brief but very informative talk at the beginning of the program about these magnificent birds of prey. We now had a pretty good idea of what to expect going on our woodland hike. Everyone’s goal was to be able to get a glimpse of an owl living in its own natural habitat.
The journey into the woods was a cold one that took us along a trail going uphill and downhill, crossing over a wooden bridge, and through more rough terrain. We would stop from time to time to make sure everyone caught up, and then off again on our journey deep into the woods. We used no lanterns, a few flashlights here and there, but for the most part, our mile journey was guided by the cold moonlit night. Once your eyes get used to seeing in the dark, it is really quite easy to hike the trails.
On we trudged until, suddenly, everyone in front of us stopped in a wooded clearing. We remained calm and quiet as our guide played a recording of owls and their calls. We even got the chance to call the owls ourselves, with a group hoot-hoot! We stood motionless, waiting and watching, looking in every direction. Then, spotted high up in the trees, there they were! Not one, but two barred owls! A light was quickly aimed upwards into the trees to shine upon them. One immediately flew away; the other remained still upon the branch. Now, who was watching whom? What a magnificent creature he was. He sat with great authority, and after everyone was able to view him in total wonder, he flew away into the night.
We gathered ourselves and started our return trip home to the Nature Center. We stopped briefly a few times to call out to the owls, but we found no others. I believe they were there, quietly, sitting in the trees, carefully watching each of us as we slowly hiked our way back.
Everyone made it safely back to the Nature Center where we shared hot chocolate, cookies, and stories about our successful journey, each one of us having smiles on our faces!
You can check out all of the programs and events the Moebius Nature Center has to offer at www.myMNC.org or on Facebook. The Nature Center can be rented out for parties, reunions, weddings or other special events. Visit Moebius Nature Center and discover Aurora’s best-kept secret!
Have you been to any programs at the Nature Center? Please share your favorite in the comments below.