At present Lake County is home to three owl species that are year-round residents—the great horned, barred and screech—as well as several others that visit during the cold weather months. We’ll take a look these birds’ adaptations, as well as their life histories and the roles they play in local ecosystems. Spoiler alert: Species profiles will include an Illinois owl success story!

Presenter: Pam Otto is the outreach ambassador for the naturalist department at the St. Charles Park District. She received a master’s degree in outdoor education from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb in 2001, and a bachelor’s degree in Foods in Business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1985. Although she has been chasing snakes since the age of three, she worked in the field of trade publishing for 15 years before starting work as a naturalist in 1999. Since that time she has worked at the Kane County Forest Preserve District’s Tekakwitha Woods Nature Center and at the Fox Valley Park District’s Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora. She joined the naturalist staff at St. Charles in September 2007.

If you are unable to attend in person, please join us via Zoom using the link below: (TBD)