Mark Glenshaw, above, the Owlman of Forest Park, considers his spot on Schlafly Library's calendar next Wednesday to be somewhat of a coup. He's given over 20 lectures since January sharing his observations of a pair of Great Horned Owls that inhabit Forest Park, including to the Burroughs Audubon Society in Kansas City. Most of his lectures have taken place at the County Library, Maplewood and UCity's libraries, but never in a City of St. Louis library – not for lack of trying. But something's afoot at our neighborhood library, there's a new energy evidenced in programming, and leading the pack, in my opinion, is Mark's upcoming lecture, see below.
The photo above was taken at Mark's lecture last Wednesday evening. I have only seen him in camouflage gear (as seen on screen above), so his appearance at Schlafly Library, above left, was a complete surprise.
Libraries rank high on Mark's list of favorite places. He's the Daytime Services Manager at the Jack C. Taylor Library at Fontbonne University, and since he discovered the owls in Forest Park – over 8 1/2 years ago – he's done most of his research in libraries. Though he and his girlfriend Wendy recently moved to Dogtown (they previously lived in the CWE), they seem to find their way to the neighborhood's Schlafly Library at least once a week.
Almost every evening year 'round though, the Owlman is in Forest Park with his binoculars and long-lensed camera recording the lives of Charles, Sarah and their offspring, which he will be sharing with you next week.
When I met Mark in the park Monday evening, I learned that the oldest of the three owlets (they hatch at different times) is looking more adult, so isn't expected to be around much longer. All three owlets are starting to hunt on their own, pursuing creatures that are, according to Mark, "in their league" (bats) and "not quite there" (a flock of mallard ducks).
Following is a recent video found on Mark's blog (link here) showing one of the owlets.
Mark proudly showed me a cottonwood tree Wendy gave him for his birthday in 2012, above. The cottonwood, a favorite of the Great Horned Owls, was planted by Forest Park Forever in Charles and Sarah's territory.
Stop by Schlafly Library, 225 N. Euclid at Lindell, Wednesday, July 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. to meet Mark Glenshaw and learn more about Forest Park's Great Horned Owls (there'll be lots of beautiful photographs and videos too).