Bellow are photo shoot samples:
OWL AND IT'S BENEFITS
Owls are a common species in Marin County. There are many different types of owls in Marin including the Barn Owl, the Western Screech Owl and the Spotted Owl (Latham). Owls are nocturnal animals and are a very well known species of birds (Klappenbach). They give local communities many benefits for the environment and the general population through their pest control and symbolic meaning.
Primarily, owls provides natural pest control for the environment. They eat small rodents and vermin, which are pests that are usually bothersome to homes. Owls are better for the environment and more effective than rodenticides. They are a safe way to kill rats instead of using rat poison ("3 Main Benefits of Barn Owls." - Barn Owl Boxes.). Poisons such as rat poison and Rodenticides are harmful to the environment while owls provide a safe and friendly way of killing off unwanted pests ("3 Main Benefits of Barn Owls." - Barn Owl Boxes.). By using the local owls to kill pests and by using nest boxes, you are helping yourself and the owls (Henke). Barn owls are a great example of a local animal that is also extremely helpful. Barn owls have heart shaped faces and large talons and a wingspan of around 3 ½ feet (Klappenbach). It was said that Barn Owls eat can eat up to 11,000 rodents in ten years ("Benefits of Barn Owls."). Albany Herald says that “healthy owls populations… [can] be viewed as positive evidence of a healthy, stable ecosystem” (Kornegay). The more the owls thrive the more humans do too. To help with pest control, it is cheaper for humans to build an owl box to kill rodents than to buy poison to kill the rodents ("3 Main Benefits of Barn Owls.").
Similarly, owls are a beneficial source of economic revenue and beauty to Marin County. Like mentioned before, owls are free pest control, which saves money for humans. Birders are very interested in owls, especially the Barn Owl, and are willing to pay money to protect and view these birds ("Owls - Importance Of Owls”). Owls have also been said to represent wisdom and beauty (Kornegay). Jodi Henke says that “Owls have always been linked to superstition and folklore” (Henke). They were once seen negatively but now are viewed very positively in society (Kornegay). For example, Bob Kornegay in said: “The sensual and aesthetic values of simply seeing and hearing owls far outweigh whatever minor negative impacts they may have” (Kornegay). In many cultures, owls are seen as a symbol of good luck (Kornegay). Owls are majestic animals, and people enjoy looking at them (Kornegay). Our own Mark Stefanski has once said, “Waking up to birds chirping is the highlight of my morning.” Society holds owls in high esteem.
In conclusion, owls have many important benefits. They not only help the environment, but the economy and the general wellbeing of humans as well. They provide free, natural, pest control and are a beautiful animal that we are lucky to have living in our ecosystem. When you get an owl box, it not only helps you, but also the owl. As a class, we went to Wildcare and they talked to us about rodenticides. We learned that the use of pest control and rat poison leads to owls consuming these poisons and dying ("Wildcare - WildCare Home Page."). The good thing is that these deaths are easily preventable! If we as a community limit our use of poison, we can help limit the number of deaths of owls and other neighboring organisms. If there is a healthy amount of owls, the world prospers. Let's help the owls out by protecting our animals and land, which will ultimately help us.
Works Cited:
"3 Main Benefits of Barn Owls." - Barn Owl Boxes. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. http://www.barnowlboxes.com/blog/3-main-benefits-of-barn-owls.
Henke, Jodi. "Benefits of Barn Owls." Living the Country Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/animals/wildlife/benefits-barn-owls/.
Klappenbach, Laura . "Facts About Owls - Animals and Wildlife - About.com." About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. http://animals.about.com/od/owls/a/owl-facts.htm.
Kornegay, Bob "Owl Benefits Surpass Negative Beliefs." Www.albanyherald.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/sep/12/owl-benefits-surpass-negative-beliefs/.
Latham, Laure. "Night Owls: Bay Area's Nocturnal Animals." : The Savvy Source for Parents in San Francisco, CA. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. http://www.savvysource.com/parenting/13111-night-owls-bay-areas-nocturnal-animals.
"Owls - Importance Of Owls." - Species, Habitat, World, and Populations. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. http://science.jrank.org/pages/4956/Owls-Importance-owls.html.
"Wildcare - WildCare Home Page." Wildcare - WildCare Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015.http://www.wildcarebayarea.org/site/PageServer