EDIT: Everything is posted now, so I'll respond to any questions I can answer for you now. Enjoy, and I hope you learn some new things!
Went to a bird banding event held by Wildlands Conservancy last night. Unfortunately this year has been a bit of a poor showing due to the warm weather, and we didn't end up with any owls.
There was still a great presentation on the owls of Pennsylvania and the bird banding process. We did get to meet some of the educational owls and handle some nice examples of things being discussed.
I got some time to talk to the guy running the banding and the lady running the animal education part of things and got some of my questions answered. I've been becoming really interested in learning more of the regulatory side of things. There is a real web of agencies that govern how wildlife can be handled.
I figure this is true for most people coming here. I don't hate the memes, it's not what I do, but it can still be a gateway to learning if someone can catch your interest, which is what I try to do.
They are fabulous creatures, that need our love and respect to save their environment. Trees need to be almost 200 years old before they can support owls, as owls cannot make their own nests. Chemicals used on crops or to poison rodents kill huge numbers of owls that get exposed to the chemicals by touch or injestion.
They're living creatures with unique abilities and varied personalities that are great to observe and spark an interest in our planet.
I'm really happy whenever I hear one of you have developed a new interest. It's through small gestures like this that we'll make the world a better place. Plus they ARE very fun to look at too!
I hope you keep coming back and growing your interest. I was just a casual observer too until coming here and watching this place be pretty dead. You never know where your interests will take you!