Novato Woman Receives Award For Work With Owls

Alex Godbe, a woman who began a projected entitled Hungry Owl Project in 2001 for rescue of owls and education about these birds, is scheduled to receive a Green Award from the city of San Anselmo.  The Green Award is given to residents who make contributions to sustainability or the ecology of the area.

Godbe’s project has rescued more than 800 owls in the past decade and has provided educational materials to thousands about the use of pesticides and their harmful effect on the environment.  After living in San Anselmo for many years, Godbe recently moved to Novato where she will continue her work.

Godbe says that she rescued an owl family once when the mother died, transferring the babies to foster boxes.  She is passionate about spreading the message that rodenticides can kill predators such as raptors that provide natural rodent control.  Pesticides can lead to second-hand poisoning of other animals, as well, such as foxes, squirrels and deer.

Currently, the Hungry Owl Project has around 30 volunteers who average 100 hours per year in working with the project.  The British native first became interested in the life cycle of owls as a child when she received a book about birds as a Christmas present from her parents.  She began her work at WildCare in Marin 17 years ago, working with Wookie, a male barn owl that she used in presentations.  Wookie lived to the ripe old age of 13 before dying a few months ago.  She has managed to install an owl box with cameras on the outside of the building so that the live feed can be piped into the town hall for everyone to see.

Barn Owl Boxes can help those who want to share these experiences, as well.  Barn Owl Boxes are designed to be placed near your home and the live camera feed allows you to check on your own family of barn owls and watch them progress through the nesting stages and raise their young.  Barn Owl Boxes are available in several types, with or without cameras, depending on preference and budget.  Further, bat boxes are also available.  Bats can eat tons of insects each year, while a nesting pair of barn owls can eat thousands of rodents.

Barn Owl Boxes salutes Ms. Godbe and her work with the barn owls in her area.