The Hungry Owl Project - News & Stories

HOP and Wookie the barn owl will join John Klobas, instructor for Pt. Reyes seminars at his family owl event on Oct. 18 for

We will soon post some new rescue stories, in the meantime you can read some of the past stories here.

Owls in the News

"Raptor Ruin" Study Finds Barn Owls Number One Roadkill Victims

Digging for Owls (Burrowing Owls)

Owls' Ears Map the World: Stealthy birds are better at detecting horizontal shifts in sound sources. (pdf file)

To the world, the symbol of peace may be a dove, but to farmers on either side of the Jordan, it's Tyto alba, the common barn owl. (pdf file)

Congratulations to Keep Barn Owls In Berkeley! The barn owl is now the official bird of the City of Berkeley - read about it in the Golden Gate Audubon Summer 2006 newsletter, where you can also read about a victory for Burrowing Owls (a species of concern).

HOP in the News

Fine Feathered Friends Northbay Business Journal, February 2008

Airborne with a little TLC - Novato Advance, January 2008

3rd Annual Evening with Owls 2007 Marin IJ Photos (pdf)

September 21, 2007 - Contra Costa Times wildlife columnist Gary Bogue
Barn Owl is wise choice when selecting owl box - good information on types of owls found in eastern sections of the Bay Area.

August 1, 2007 - San Francisco Chronicle, Home & Garden
Urban raptors, too, fall victim to rodenticides

July 25, 2007 - San Francisco Chronicle, Home & Garden
Whether gophers or moles, owls love 'em

June 17, 2007 - Palo Alto Daily News
Barn owls swoop up pesky animals

June 2, 2007
Ask the Arborist: Look out for owl's nests before trimming trees

April 2007 - Secondary Poisoning of Red-shouldered Hawk in Golden Gate Park Leads to Rodenticide Restrictions in San Francisco

January 13, 2007
Owl About Town -
The Hungry Owl Project visits Suburban Habitat

We are proud to announce that our director, Alex Godbe, was chosen for a 2006 Jefferson Award for Community Service. Alex is featured in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle and on CBS Eyewitness News.

October 2006 - Marin Magazine
Wild Night is Calling (pdf)
Photo by Phil Johnson

Marin Independent Journal
In the presence of owls

Marin Independent Journal
A report on the 2006 Evening with Owls event

August 2006 - Barn Owls at Hamilton, Novato
The Northbay Report, Comcast (video)

Marin Independent Journal
Letter to the Editor about HOP's efforts to safe a barn owl nest from tree cutting - June 2006

May 31, 2006 - Marin Independent Journal
Novato neighborhood summons owls in war on rats

Letter to the IJ Editor about HOP efforts + Editorial Cartoon about Barn owls (pdf)

March 25, 2006 - San Francisco Chronicle
Barn Owls All Too Happy To Be Your Rat Catchers

Infineon Hires Owls to Hunt Rodents (pdf)
—KRON-TV, November 4, 2005

Watching out for owls
—San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 2004

Orphaned owls rescued
Who's helping baby owls?
—Novato Advance, May 12, 2004

Owls find homes after trees mistakenly cut
Marin Independent Journal—April 1, 2004

Nicasio Family Cares for Owls
Point Reyes Light: April 22, 2004 - more on the Tiburon owls

She Gives a Hoot About Owls
San Francisco Chronicle: August 18, 2003

Novato winery using owls to guard vines—Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal—February 18, 2003
Birds act as non-toxic rodent control

The Pacheco Ranch Winery in Novato has new sentries watching for rodents that eat precious vines: barn owls.

Four owl boxes have been placed on property along Alameda del Prado in hopes that the owls will thrive and serve as a non-toxic pest control service.

"This project helps the species and helps with rodent control and allows people to stay away from the use of chemicals," said Alex Godbe, program director of WildCare's Hungry Owl Project.

Owls Hinder Civic Center Restoration—KRON 4 Television, 2002
Workers who are restoring Marin County's Civic Center spire are climbing carefully around a family of squatters. They have taken up residence in the 240-foot high tower.

The towering spire must have looked like a fancy tree, or maybe a Marin County condo to a pair of barn owls.