Speakers

Our presenters are a large part of what make the International Festival of Owls so exciting. Not only are these people experts in their field, they are simply and obviously passionate about owls, and it tends to be contagious. You won't find any stuffy, snooty folks here, but rather people who are excellent at relating their knowledge and experience to the general public in a truly engaging fashion.

Regular speakers:

Marge Gibson, founder of the Raptor Education Group Inc., Antigo, Wisconsin, USA.

Marge presents our live owl programs every year and provides the birds for the owl photo session. She is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but she conveys the concept that each owl is an individual, not just an object. This makes her programs very special, and something you'll remember for a very long time. She is equally skilled at communicating with young children, adults, and biologists, so no matter what your background, Marge can touch your with her owls.

Karla Kinstler, Director of the Houston Natural Center and Festival Coordinator, Houston, MN, USA

Karla coordinates the festival each year and presents programs with Alice the Great Horned Owl. Before acquiring Alice in 1998, Karla led a relatively normal life. Now she has a website, owlstuff.com, maintains a blog about Alice, transports injured owls and food for injured owls to wildlife rehabilitators, and is conducting a vocal study on the Great Horned Owl.

Keynote speakers:

2004 - Katherine McKeever, Founder of The Owl Foundation - Vineland, Ontario, Canada (below left, © Kara Kristjanson)

2005 - Dr. James R. Duncan, Manitoba Conservation and owl biologist - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (above right photo, with Festival organizer Karla Kinstler on left and Raptor Education Group Executive Director Marge Gibson on right, © Jim Duncan)

2006 - David H. Johnson, Executive Director of the Global Owl Project - Alexandria, Virginia, USA (left photo below)

2007 - Denver Holt, Founder of the Owl Research Institute - Charlo, Montana, USA (right photo above with Festival organizer Karla Kinstler and Alice the Great Horned Owl, © Alan Stankevitz)

Our 2008 keynote presentation will be given by Dr. C. Stuart Houston, owl bander extraordinaire from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, entitled "Adventures with 7,000 nestling Great Horned Owls: eaters of snowshoe hares." Dr. Houston is actually a medical doctor by training, and served as Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Saskatchewan until retiring in 1996. Besides having over 280 medical publications to his credit, he also has an unrelenting passion for birds that has led to his banding over 130,000 birds with his wife, Mary, and subpermittees and at least 599 natural history publications. The awards Dr. Houston has received in his lifetime are far too numerous to list, but include the Marion Jenkinson Service Award from the American Ornithologists' Union and being named an Officer of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor possible in Canada.

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