Congratulations to KBS’s own Sara Garnett, who earned a whopping $77,403 during a recent four-day run on the popular tv game show Jeopardy!.

Sara is a Ph.D. student in Tom Getty’s lab, where she is working toward a dual degree in Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior. Her research, conducted in the pond labs at KBS, examines how kinship may affect competition and cooperation among American toad tadpoles.

A KBS GK-12 Fellow, Sara also works with AP Biology students at Plainwell High School.

The Jeopardy! episodes featuring Sara aired on February 27^th and 28^th, and March 1^st and 4^th. They were taped in September 2012. The first three episodes were taped back-to-back. (Whew!)

"Obviously, the experience was amazing," Sara said. "I loved how everybody at KBS came together (to watch the episodes with her at McCrary Hall) and were so supportive about it."

A veteran of various high school and college quiz bowl teams, Sara prepared by practicing on internet quiz sites--and boning up on one unfamiliar topic in particular.

"Opera--that was the one thing I was really, really prepared for!" Sara laughed.

Sara said she has no definite career plans but will probably pursue education in some form.

"I enjoy helping students to develop their own research questions and design experiments," Sara said. "It helps them to understand and be involved in the scientific process."

And what will she do with her winnings?

"I'll probably do something fun with it, but probably some of it should be managed responsibly," Sara said.

"Tom would probably say I need to get back to work," she laughed.

Last Tuesday was an entertaining and educational night at the Sanctuary! Penny Briscoe, a Purple Martin landlord of over 25 years, presented her program titled Purple Martins: Backyard Aerialists. Over the course of an hour, Penny told us about the history of Purple Martins and taught us the basics of becoming a landlord.

Penny’s passion and excitement for this species was apparent from the very beginning of her presentation. The stories she shared about her experiences with Purple Martins were inspiring. She told us about a year when over thirty young Purple Martins were lost due to bad weather and how that tragedy led to her recent success of 160 fledglings! If audience members seemed concerned that they couldn’t make the same kind of commitment to Purple Martins as Penny does, she was quick to remind us all that you can become a Purple Martin landlord on whatever scale you are comfortable with. If that means you monitor three large houses and provide food in bad weather, go for it. If you only have the time to monitor one small house, that is great too. Another aspect of the program that was really enjoyable was the time at the end Penny took to answer questions and speak individually with audience members.

Sanctuary volunteers monitoring the Purple Martin house

If you are interested in Purple Martins and weren't able to make it this great program, you definitely don't want to miss out on the Sanctuary's other Purple Martin program!

Purple Martin Workshop: How to be a good Purple Martin Landlord is taking place this Saturday, March 16^th. This workshop will run from 9am until noon, and you can expect to learn tips and tricks to being a successful Purple Martin landlord. You’ll even be able to get hands-on experience monitoring a martin colony!

For registration and more information, check out the events page of our website or like us on Facebook!

These are our resident Great Horned Owls. Both birds came to the Sanctuary in 2008 from the Michigan State Veterinary Clinic. They both have permanent wing injuries that prevent them from flying, so they will remain at the Sanctuary for the rest of their lives. One of the owls, nicknamed Virginia, has been trained to stand calmly on the glove for education programs.

Virginia the Great Horned Owl standing on the glove

Great Horned Owls are one of the most commonly found owls in the U.S. This is because they are well-adapted to a variety of conditions. For example, Great Horned Owls can survive in any climate except for the very cold arctic! These owls will also eat almost anything they can find including mice, rabbits, birds as large as herons, insects, and crayfish. They are also the only animal that regularly eats skunks!

Great Horned Owls live in a wide variety of habitats, but they seem to like living near open areas the most. They typically hunt by sitting on a pole or tree near an open field or wetland and watch for prey up to 100ft away! A Great Horned Owl can see this far, because their eyes are very large in relation to the size of their head. If your eyes were as large as a Great Horned Owl’s in relation to the size of your head, they would be the size of tennis balls! Great Horned Owls also have more rods in their eyes than we do, so they can see better than we can in low light conditions. If you put a Great Horned Owl in a stadium sized room and lit only one candle, there would be enough light for the owl to hunt!

Since Great Horned Owls are well adapted to a variety of conditions, their populations are stable. They can have a negative effect on other raptor populations though. In the 1950s, Peregrine Falcon populations began declining due to the pesticide DDT. Efforts to restore their populations began in the 1970s, but falcon populations have not been reestablished in some rural areas because Great Horned Owls will eat young falcons. Great Horned Owls will also eat young Osprey, another species recovering from the effects of DDT.

Be sure to visit our Great Horned Owls during your next visit to the Sanctuary, and check out the following websites for more information and videos!

All About Birds-Great Horned Owl

The Owl Pages

Live Streaming Great Horned Owl Cams

Six weeks into my internship, the question I have been asked the most by visitors is: “Aren’t you afraid that raptor is going to attack you?” This question usually comes when I am in one of the Bird of Prey enclosures feeding or cleaning, and I think it is a great question. The raptors at the Sanctuary are all wild birds, and they live at the Sanctuary because they have permanent injuries that prevent them from surviving in the wild. Because they are wild birds, they are usually focused on staying as far away as possible from the person in their enclosure. While it is possible that one of the raptors could come at me or the Animal Caretaker, it’s unlikely if procedures are followed correctly and there is communication taking place between the caretaker and the raptor. Before you get too excited, no, the birds don’t talk to us with words. They tell us what they are thinking with their body language and behaviors!

For example, look at the posture of this Barn Owl. He has spread his wings out like a shield to make himself look bigger and he may be swaying from side to side. This tells us that he is feeling threatened or startled. He is trying to make himself look bigger to what he perceives as a threat.

This Great Horned Own is also feeling threatened or startled. She has raised all of her feathers to make herself look bigger. She might hiss at you or clack her beak, too. To hear what this sounds like, select the “Calls during nest defense” recording at this website.

This Red-tailed Hawk has raised its hackles (the feathers on the back of its head) to tell you that he is alarmed and becoming defensive. If hawks get stressed and hot, they will open their mouths and pant (much like a dog does). If you see one of our Red-tails repeatedly jumping from perch to wall or from perch to perch, that is another way of the bird telling you that she is feeling uncomfortable with the situation.

Photograph from Eagles and Birds of Prey by Jemima Parry-Jones

There are several things you can do if you notice that one of the raptors is feeling threatened or startled. The easiest thing you can do is to back away from the enclosure and give the bird a little more space. Consider walking away to give the raptor a few minutes to settle down. Try not to stare directly at the bird for extended periods of time either; it makes the raptor feel defensive.

The raptors don’t just tell us when they are scared. They tell us when they are comfortable and relaxed, too! Take a look at this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk. Her feathers are fluffed up and rumpled looking. This picture was taken while the bird was rousing. Rousing is when a bird raises all of their feathers up and then shakes them back into place. This is a sign of a content bird.

This Red-tailed Hawk is preening its feathers. She reaches her head around to her preen gland (located near the base of the tail) and squeezes a little bit of oil out. She wipes the oil on her feathers to fix any gaps and also to waterproof and condition her feathers. Preening is another sign of a relaxed bird.

This last behavior is one that our raptors exhibit quite frequently. Comfortable and relaxed raptors will stand on one foot and tuck the other foot up into their feathers! Look for just three toes showing on the perch instead of six like in this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.

On your next walk on the Birds of Prey Loop, keep an eye out for these behaviors and you too can talk to the birds!

One of my favorite things about the Sanctuary is that there is always something new going on! Every month brings new visitors and new events, so there is so much to look forward to! Just think… the spring migration will begin soon, songbirds will start moving into the Sanctuary’s nestboxes, the Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles will have to decide who is going to nest in the Rookery, and in a few short months there will be swans and geese nesting on Wintergreen Lake! The Sanctuary’s programs and events are getting into full swing, too! There are two spring programs in particular that I am excited for because they are about a species I don’t know very much about: purple martins!

Female and male purple martins on a perch (Photo used by permission, copyright Purple Martin Conservation Association)

The first program, Purple Martins: Backyard Aerialists, will take place on February 26th. This program is about martin migration, nesting habits, and how martins evolved to 100% dependence on humans for successful continuation of the species. Anyone who is interested in learning about purple martins or is curious about whether their yard could provide martin habitat will enjoy this program!

The second program, Purple Martin Workshop: How to be a Good Purple Martin Landlord, will take place on March 16th. This program will provide you with tips and tricks for becoming a successful martin landlord! Plenty of great information will be shared including how to prepare nests, how to monitor the martins, and where to find helpful resources.

Both programs will be taught by Penny Briscoe. She has been a purple martin landlord for over 25 years, and last year her colony had 160 fledglings! Penny has a lot of expertise and enthusiasm to share with you, but if you can’t make it to her programs, you can still learn about purple martins during your next visit to the Sanctuary!

Purple Martin House at the Sanctuary

Last spring, a purple martin house was refurbished and installed as part of Heather’s intern project. One of the nests was even successful! We will soon be moving the house back outside and the first purple martin scouts could show up in early April! You can also check out the purple martin exhibit in the Overlook Museum that was created as part of Jennifer’s intern project.

Whether you plan a trip to the Sanctuary, attend Penny’s programs, or both, you’ll be sure to learn a lot about purple martins! We can’t wait to see you!

For more information and registration, check out the events page of our website or like us on Facebook!