Owl Prowl Adventures in Forest Park

“Forest Park: A Walk Through History” officially reached its one year anniversary in March! Annnnd so did the COVID pandemic in the US, obviously. This wasn’t exactly the book launch year I’d imagined or planned for. But I still feel like I was able to get my message out along with my new book; Forest Park is a little urban oasis in the chaos and the perfect place to safely explore, learn and get outside during the pandemic.

Enter Mark Glenshaw and his Forest Park owls.

Mark Glenshaw has been studying a male great horned owl, fondly named Charles, in Forest Park for over fifteen years. In that time Charles has had a handful of mates and several offspring, all observed and noted by naturalist, Mark.

You may be familiar with Mark and his owls if you live anywhere near Forest Park. For those of us who are devotees of the Park and lifelong lovers of nature, Mark has become a bit of a staple in our community. Despite working full time, Mark keeps up a busy schedule educating the community by posting owl updates on various neighborhood Facebook groups, giving (virtual and in person) lectures to different community groups, libraries, organizations and institutions and leading Owl Prowls.

In late fall, I began spending time with my friends by taking masked walks in Forest Park after work. On one such walk, we ran into Mark on one of his Prowls. I recognized Mark from his Facebook posts in the Dogtown neighborhood group. My friends and I were all keepers, and we’d all worked with great horned owls at one time or another, so we introduced ourselves to Mark and talked for a while. Mark is gregarious, intelligent and so easy to chat with, and I knew immediately that I wanted to take part in one of his Owl Prowls.

I contacted Mark and my adventure began. The Owl Prowls are extremely well organized. Mark sends a detailed email with instructions about where to meet, how to act around the owls and what to wear depending on the weather situation (I assured him that as a zookeeper, I knew very well what to wear for various types of Missouri weather).

I went on my first Prowl a few weeks ago. It was a warm(ish) night in the Park, prior to daylight savings time, so it quickly became dark and because most of the Prowl is spent standing and observing I was happy to have packed my extra layers. Mark was a professional. He jumped right into his well rehearsed, but relaxed dialogue and I did my best to remember facts and tidbits about great horned owls I’d learned while caring for them in the Children’s Zoo. We clicked immediately as two people fond of both the Park and the weird and wild creatures within it tend to do.

All in all Mark and I spent about 3 hours together. He told me all about the natural history of great horned owls as well as the particularities of Charles’ unique story within Forest Park. I grilled him all about how he began his study, his methodology and how he balances his love for the owls with the duties of adult life, and found it all fascinating. Mark showed me the owls’ nest site and introduced me to both Charles and his current mate, Sophie. It was a magical evening for an animal nerd like me. I got to hear the owls calling to one another, their distinct hoot echoing through the familiar Forest Park trees. I saw Charles hunting and bringing prey to Sophie, who Mark informed me was likely sitting on a newly hatched clutch of owlets. At one point, we even observed Charles make a hunting attempt on a great blue heron in a stream right in front of us. The heron let out a bone chilling scream and got away with its life, but it was certainly a sight I’d never seen before! Even Mark said that this moment was pretty rare, which sort of thrilled me.

When I got home that night, I was hooked. I wanted to learn more about the owls, see them again and continue to follow Mark’s online presence and activities (he has several different lectures which he rotates. There’s always more to learn!). Mark asked if I’d like to do another Prowl soon, once the baby owlets were bigger and once we had more time to see more of Charles’ historical territory. Of course, I said YES!

I completed my second Owl Prowl a few weeks ago. This time, my cousin and her husband came along. They too were entranced by the owls and wanted to experience the magic. This was a chillier night than my first one and I broke out the big Carhartt coat to stay warm, though in the post daylight savings spring it stayed light for the entire three hours. My second Owl Prowl was just as extraordinary. We got to see both Charles and Sophie PLUS their growing owlets, visible just inside of their hollowed tree nest. I’d never seen a great horned owlet before, and let me tell you they are CUTE. These things look just like Muppets. Big, white, fluffy, huge-eyed Muppets. Except they’re not Muppets, they’re real life animals, which makes them all the better.

On this Prowl, we explored more of the owls’ territory, which showed off Mark’s extensive knowledge and keen eye for detail. He has named a lot of the trees the owls frequently roost or nest in, creating his own Owl Kingdom within Forest Park. He showed us where and how to find owl pellets—something I’d cleaned up frequently at the zoo, but have never seen in the wild. My cousin’s husband was particularly impressed by the array of skeletal bits we saw inside. Totally gross, and totally fascinating. We also saw a mink in the waterway which, for this mammal keeper, was really exciting.

This is all to say YOU SHOULD GO DO AN OWL PROWL! For real, now is the time, check it out! Alternatively, if quiet observation for hours outside is not your thing, check out one of Mark’s upcoming lectures or learn more on his blog linked HERE.

Throughout both Prowls, random people approached with a friendly “Hey Mark.” Many stayed around to observe the owls and catch up on their activities. Bikers passed by and shouted “Hi Mark!” with a friendly wave. It was like being in Forest Park with a celebrity! But more than that, I could really see the community Mark has built around these owls. It’s so fascinating and wonderful to see nature bringing people together, and the connection everyone felt around the awesome observation of this unique species.

As such, I wanted to celebrate Mark’s Owl Prowl community. I think that those who are interested in the owls and interested in the Park would also enjoy exploring via “Forest Park: A Walk Through History.” So, I have given Mark a special coupon code for past and future Owl Prowlers to use when they purchase the book through my website www.carolynelizabethmueller.com. Please, feel free to spread the word about Mark and his owls and use the coupon code to purchase the book so that you can continue to learn more and explore Forest Park!

Mark mentioned that over the years, people have referred to great horned owls as the “tigers of the skies” and it’s true, these birds are incredible apex predators.

And they live right here, in Forest Park.

My takeaway is this. Forest Park is magic. There is always more to discover, there is always more to explore.

I look forward to following the story of Mark’s owls for years to come as we watch each special generation unfolding.

Thanks to Mark for introducing me to the owls and I hope you all get to enjoy your own Owl Prowl sometime soon!

Me and Mark, all suited up for Owl Prowl #2.