Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center

Who Cooks for You, Who Cooks for You all

By S.B. DeArment

I was asked to give a presentation at McKeever Environmental Center with live owls, for their Owl Prowl Night. Once the presentation was finished, many of us went with the naturalist to attempt to call an owl in to the group.

I was asked to do the call of a Barred Owl. I had only called one Barred Owl once in my backyard. So I gave it my best. The group waited at one spot in the woods, then walked about a half mile, and I tried again.

The call of the Barred Owl sounds similar to “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all.”

After several attempts, we were about to give up.

The naturalist let a few of the younger children blow into a mouth piece to see if they could make the sound of an owl.

All of a sudden, a Barred Owl hooted. I began hooting back each time it called. The hooting continued for about ten minutes. We were thrilled that the owl came so close, seemingly carrying on a conversation.

Then the cutest thing happened. A small child walked up to me and asked: “What was that owl saying to you?”