CARIBOU, Maine – After reopening its doors this month, Caribou’s Nylander Museum of Natural History welcomed back two feathered friends Saturday.
As part of their Traveling Natural History Program, Wiscasset-based Chewonki brought two live owls – Ozzy, an eastern screech owl, and Archie, a great horned owl. Ozzy and Archie helped educate children and adult visitors about Maine’s unique owl species and how the creatures have adapted to survive in the wild.
Chewonki’s owls and other creatures become part of the traveling program only after getting injured so badly that they can’t return to the wild, said Emma Balazs, Chewonki’s director of Maine school programs.
Ozzy was hit by a car in Miami and became partially blind in both eyes and partially deaf in one ear. Archie was first rescued in New Hampshire after falling from his nest as a baby, making him fully blind in his left eye.
Owls can see 10 times better than humans at night and have feathers that remain quiet while in flight, Balazs said. But Ozzy and Archie would never be able to catch small prey like mice, voles and rabbits while blind.
The owls’ visit marked the first public event at the Nylander since before COVID. Museum Director Peter Baldwin and his new working board of directors plan to bring school visits and family-based activities back to the historic Caribou landmark.
“It’s great to see live animals in this way,” said Robert Carlson, a Nylander board member. “Bringing events like this to town can help us create more interest in the museum.”
Eighteen people attended the first owl session on Saturday, while just over a dozen people attended the second.
The Nylander is now open every Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and for private tours by appointment.
