Meet Pip, Northern hawk owl chick and Shaver’s Creek’s newest animal ambassador

PETERSBURG, Pa. — A tiny owl with a big mission has landed at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center. Pip, a Northern hawk owl chick, is helping the center break new ground as one of the first in the country to raise this rare species in a conservation education environment.

The arrival marks a new chapter not only for Shaver’s Creek, which is a service of Penn State Outreach, but for the entire community that will learn and grow alongside Pip.

Leaders in wildlife education

Pip is one of a brood of northern hawk owls hatched this spring as part of a first-of-its-kind conservation education effort in Washington state. Pip recently traveled across the country to join the Klingsberg Aviary at Shaver’s Creek.

Shaver’s Creek Wildlife Program Director Paige Sutherland said Pip is a fitting name for this owlet who will bring many new experiences to the environmental center.

“Pipping is the first stage of hatching out of an egg, and this little one is the first of this species bred for conservation education in the U.S., the first time the center has had this species, the first time we've acquired a bird bred for education and the first time we've raised a chick from this young of an age,” Sutherland said. “Pip will help hatch a new stage of our program’s development and help us grow to new heights. As the bird grows and develops, so will our program.”

Northern hawk owls are unique because they look like owls, but act like hawks, said Klingsberg Aviary Coordinator Joe Whitehead. While Pip is currently small with fluffy downy feathers, Northern hawk owls grow to have a distinct owl look with an oval body, yellow eyes and round face. Whereas most owls are nocturnal and hunt at night, Northern hawk owls are typically active during the day, often seen perched on trees hunting like hawks.

The species is native to the boreal forests of North America from Alaska to Canada and parts of the Northern continuous United States but is seldom seen by birders in the area.

The opportunity to acquire this rare owl is a testament to the innovative work that Sutherland and her team have done with raptor training based on positive reinforcement that provides the birds with empowerment, flexibility and choice.

This approach has proven to be successful with the owls they have worked with over the years, providing an example to other nature centers that work with owls.

“One of the big gaps in knowledge is that a lot of the work has been historically focused on hawks,” Whitehead said "Animal training has come a long way but there is still a lot to learn, especially with owls. But we have done well with our owls. They have done well in our system at our facility."

Now, with a human-imprinted owl raised in a conservation education environment from infancy, Whitehead said he believes it will be beneficial to compare the work done with Pip to the other owls who arrived at the center with different backgrounds.

“As far as the field is concerned, this puts us in a really interesting place to research in the future, because now we have this hawk owl that is a very purposely raised as an imprint and a species that our industry has the least amount of knowledge on,” Whitehead said. “We have this spectrum of all the ways you can work with an owl. It puts us in a position to continue to help other centers because we can compare, share and strengthen each bird’s message.”

It's the center’s strong reputation in the conservation education that led Joel Knutson to entrust Shaver’s Creek with one of the six Northern hawk owl chicks that hatched in his care this year.

“We had heard about the facility's great reputation, and we had a personal recommendation from a mutual connection who said they felt it would be a great fit. Then we saw some videos of one of the birds that Joe was working with, and it was very apparent that he really knew what he was doing,” Knutson said. “That spoke a lot to the level of care and precision that would be involved with the husbandry of this bird.”

Impact on community

After Pip settles in from the long journey across the country, the owlet will become the newest animal ambassador in Shaver’s Creek Animal Encounter program. Animal ambassadors help educate students and community members about a wide range of conservation initiatives.

For a limited time, beginning on Aug. 1, the public will have a chance to meet Pip up close in small groups, where they can learn more about the species and Pip’s unique personality, while also getting a photo opportunity. Registration is required.

“We really want to create a sense of connection between this bird and the community. It is such a rare opportunity to see any bird grow up from this age and be a part of this community. But especially with such a rare bird like a hawk owl, very few people are going to have the opportunity to see a baby hawk owl in this way,” Sutherland said. “We believe Pip will be the start of many meaningful conversations for raptor conservation in Pennsylvania.”

More information about Pip can be found on the Shaver's Creek Environmental Center blog.