Owl reunion

The news has circular aspects. Certain events come around every year that require exploration: community fairs, harvest, statistical analyses. But a 25-year circle is unusual. It’s even more unusual when it involves an owl and a news reporter. One particular owl. One particular reporter.

Mr. Bogle is a great horned owl that was injured 25 years ago. Though nursed back to health, his injuries prevented him from surviving in the wild, so he became a resident of the then-fledgling Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale. As a reporter serving the County of Lethbridge region back then, I wrote a story about Mr. Bogle, who was named for Bob Bogle, the Taber-Warner MLA at the time.
This summer, while doing a story for the Producer, I was reacquainted with Mr. Bogle. He is as handsome as ever, though the same cannot be said about me. Nevertheless, we are both 25 years older and still doing our respective jobs. I’m writing news and Mr. Bogle is a mascot and promoter of the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, which continues to rescue, mend and release wild birds. It is also an educational resource and tourist attraction for those interested in birds of prey, their habits, their habitat and how they fit into the ecosystem.

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Right now, Mr. Bogle is part and parcel of the centre’s efforts to raise money for apiary renovation and audio-visual equipment for community outreach. The centre is one of five non-profit, wildlife related causes selected for funding by Jamieson’s Vitamins.
It’s clearly a promotional device for Jamieson’s, which is running a contest via Facebook asking people to vote for their favourite cause among the five. Percentage of votes will equal percentage of the money each group receives.
People can vote every day, so I’ve been doing so out of respect for the centre and out of affection for the circumspect Mr. Bogle and his fellow feathered friends. Since I have to sign in every time I vote, with name and e-mail address, I expect to receive scores of Jamieson Vitamin promotions in the future. But if they can donate thousands of dollars to a cause I support, I guess I can read about vitamin promotions.
The promotion is entitled Call For The Wild and is accessible by clicking here. It runs until Sept. 18. The contest and particularly the Birds of Prey Centre, which is based in Coaldale, Alta., might be of special interest to farmers and ranchers because they are the ones who find most of the injured birds brought to the centre.
When I talked to Centre founder Colin Weir last week, he had just picked up two injured birds from farmers in the Etzikom and Taber regions. Once those birds are brought back to health, they will be released back to the wild. So will many of the 200 birds that are resident at the centre at any given time.
Most farmers and ranchers like birds of prey around because they are a check on gophers, mice, voles and insects.