Meet Moira the owl, whoo’s a real hoot

The Wolfe Nature Center at Anderson Conservation Area is the home of a new feathered friend.
On Nov. 15, the center welcomed Moira, a red phase Eastern Screech Owl. Naturalist Cassandra Alfstad said her name came from a popular television show.
“I had a picture of her, and initially I was thinking of the name Paprika, but I felt I needed to meet her first. Once we got her, I thought, she’s not a Paprika, that’s too cute, and she’s very sassy. There’s a character named Moira on the series “Schitt’s Creek,” and that seemed to fit her personality more, so we named her Moira,” Alfstad said.
Alfstad claimed Moira in August, through Kay Newman of Save Our Avian Resources, where the Wolfe Nature Center gets all of its birds. Alfstad said Moira came to Save Our Avian Resources after an injury.
“She came in with a broken wing; she broke her humerus bone, and she will hold her right wing a little lower than her left,” Alfstad explained.
While smaller than other species of owls, Alfstad said Moira is fully grown.
“She’ll stay about the size she is now. Kay didn’t believe she was extremely old, but we do know she is an adult. The average lifespan is about 20 years in captivity, so I’m hoping we’ll have her about that long. She’s very neat,” commented Alfstad.
According to Alfstad, Save Our Avian Resources is an animal rescue organization for birds, with several volunteers. Alfstad said she’s taken injured birds to volunteer Cassie Wendell.
“Any time I get birds here from Red Oak or Montgomery County, I will take them to her. I’ve taken in Red-Tailed Hawks  and owls to her, and then she takes them to Kay Newman. Newman is a master falconer who has been doing this for more than 40 years and really knows her stuff and gets them rehabilitated. They have a really good success rate when a rehabilitation does not usually have that great of an outcome for wildlife at least.”
In Moira’s case, the reason all animals have been classified for education purposes, and also in Moira’s case, is because she could not be re-released into the wild.
“She would never be able to fly, so she’d have difficulty evading predators, and she wouldn’t be able to eat as quickly as she would want to. On a general basis, she eats mice or voles, and rodents that we can trap from a pesticide-free area, or from sites such as Rodent Pro. She also eats baby chicks. We found that she doesn’t need calcium supplements, and instead gets the calcium from the bones of the animals she eats,” explained Alfstad.
Alfstad added she has a fondness for birds, after taking an ornithology class at Northwest Missouri State. Having the ability to work with Moira has been a dream come true for her.
“To actually have a bird like Moira and make that connection with other people has just been amazing. I’ve given her a little demo, and while she’s not quite people-ready, through working with her, I’ve already started seeing a connection develop,” Alfstad said. “I took a falconing demonstration course with Newman, and she explained that any time you work with birds, you’re just bribing them to like you. That’s very relevant whenever I get her out when I see her general face and disposition, but still, we’re making that connection. We’re working together every day, and she’s established that I’m not going to eat her, and it’s been very fun to see these little connections be made already from a bird we’ve only had for a couple weeks.”
According to Alfstad, she’s uncertain when Moira will be at a stage when she’s comfortable enough to be shown to a large group of people, but they are making strides.
“There will be telltale signs when she’s comfortable. She’ll rest on my hand instead of trying to fly away, and she won’t puff herself up and when her ears pop up and she relaxes in front of a group of people, and those people can move around her, that will be a really good indicator that we can bring her out regularly. I’m not exactly sure how long that will take, it’s up to her personality,” stated Alfstad.
Already, Alfstad said she has been slowly introducing Moira to groups of people, and progress is being made.
“A couple of families I am close to have been introduced to her. We also host the Grant Federal Garden Club, and I introduced her to a group of about 30 people. She mostly sat on my hand, and only tried to fly away twice,” Alfstad commented. “But they loved her, and she was very well behaved overall. The kids really wanted to hold her and touch her, but unfortunately they couldn’t because they’re not on the federal permit.”
Now that she’s had the opportunity to work with Moira, Alfstad said they are open to adding another screech owl to the aviary in the future.
“We’d certainly welcome another, but the only chance that will happen is if another screech owl gets injured and cannot be released. I have already put in a request for a gray phase, if it becomes available, to show the color variation of students of all ages between the two,” Alfstad said.
If she wants to add an owl of a larger breed to the aviary, Alfstad said she is required to consistently work with Moira and track hours on an Excel sheet that is sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
“It’s basically for them to confirm that I’m a good owl mom. Our facility is always up to code, and a conservation officer will do a yearly check-up, and a three-year review to redo the permit and make sure we’re up to state and federal levels. After two years of really good clearance and a good report card, then we can get something larger like a barred owl, or a great horned owl.”
Moira’s aviary, which was built in August, is built slightly larger than federal guidelines, in order to house multiple species. The aviary can house up to two fully-flighted screech owls in addition to Moira, but being granted a flighted bird would be very rare.
“The only reason it would be surrendered to us, or to Kay, and not released into the wild is because it’s imprinted and used to people’s care, like a hatchling that was picked up and nursed by people. Sometimes people want to be a good Samaritan of nature and pick up and help baby animals, but that’s not something they’re supposed to do,” advised Alfstad.
Alfstad also made it clear that while Moira will eventually be comfortable around people, anyone interacting with Moira shouldn’t try to interact with an owl in the wild in the same way.
“Moira is a special case. I try to share that information in regards to all my animals, especially snakes. A lot of people have snakes as pets, and I always make it clear that all of our animals in here are not pets. We’ve got two snakes here, and much like Moira, they are a special case because they can’t be released into the wild. Someone who got to see Moira called her a pet, and I was quick to correct them. She’s a federally-protected bird, not a pet,” Alfstad stated.
Costs of the aviary were funded through membership fees from summer camp. Donations to help pay for food for Moira can be sent to the conservation office, 2059 190th St., Red Oak, IA 51566.
More information about Anderson Conservation Area can be found at montgomeryccb.org.