Children gather around science educator Kyle Wonser of the Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program on Thursday as they learn about Maine owls at the Rumford municipal building. The program was sponsored by the Rumford Public Library, which is now open to the public. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

RUMFORD — Children and their families learned about owls in Maine and what makes them distinct from other wild animals during a presentation Thursday from science educator Kyle Wonser of the Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program.

The Rumford Public Library sponsored the program held upstairs in the municipal building.

Natalie Perry, 8, and her mother, Elizabeth Sarle, look at a live great horned owl Thursday during a presentation by Kyle Wonser of the Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program at the Rumford municipal building. The program was sponsored by the Rumford Public Library. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

The event included two live owls which are native to Maine: our smallest owl species, a Northern saw-whet named Caribou and a great horned owl, the largest owl species in Maine, named Archie. Both birds live on Chewonki’s campus in Wiscasset and are permanent residents there because they have a physical handicap that would prevent their survival in the wild, Wonser said.

Wonser’s animated talk described the life of owls and their nocturnal activities. “The skies are darker, and there’s creatures skittering about getting underlayer of the leaves, … there’s two big eyes that open up, … looking around. A feather body (flies) up and it’s watching and listening. We call these creatures, these hunters, these predators, owls,” he said.

Wonser also walked around the room to let audience members touch the biological artifacts of owl’s feet, skulls and wings. He described how owls are distinct from other birds with their beak’s sharp curve and their large feet meant “for grabbing their food.”

Owl’s have “big, big eyes taking in a lot of light because they come out at night,” and although they don’t have the ability to glance from side to side as humans do, they can turn their heads three-quarters of the way around, or 270 degrees, to see in both directions, he said. Owls’ other hunting advantages are in their wings’ “frayed or fluted edge” which keeps them silent in flight, he said.

Kyle Wonser of the Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program shows a live great horned owl Thursday during a presentation at the Rumford municipal building. The program was sponsored by the Rumford Public Library, which is now open to the public. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

Wonser shared some “sad owl facts” with the audience, most notably that four out of five owls in the wild won’t live to see their second birthday. “Eighty percent of owls don’t make it to year two, because of competition (from other wildlife), lack of resources, (and) a little bit of human involvement,” he said.

The natural history program travels all around Maine to teach people about the natural world and its inhabitants, Wonser said. The organization in Wiscasset has a farm onsite where they raise farm animals to teach students where their food comes from and they also have a school onsite, a semester on the Maine coast for high school juniors and seniors, “to learn and grow,” Wonser said.

Rylee White, 8, and her grandmother, Becky McDonald, enjoy seeing a live Northern saw-whet owl Thursday as part of the Chewonki Traveling Natural History Program. Science educator Kyle Wonser holds the owl upstairs in the Rumford municipal building. The program was sponsored by the Rumford Public Library, which is now open to the public. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times