INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF OWLS
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  • Kids' Art Contest
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    • Reception
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    • Kid Stuff >
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    • Medallion Hunt
    • Nest Box Building
    • Owl Prowls
    • Owl-Themed Food
    • Owl Pellet Dissection
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INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF OWLS

2022 Hall of Fame

Prachi Mehta sitting on the ground holding a small owl
Special Achievement Award
Dr. Prachi Mehta, India


If you want to know anything about Forest Owlets, Dr. Prachi Mehta is the person to ask. The Forest Owlet is an endangered, endemic species in India, and until 1997 was thought to be extinct. Dr. Mehta has dedicated much of her work to helping these extraordinary little owls.
 
From an early age, Dr. Mehta was interested in wildlife; participating in nature camps, hiking and learning as much as she could about wildlife ecology. While working on her Ph.D. she met Jayant Kulkarni, an Indian Forest Officer, and once she graduated, they co-founded the Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS) to work on wildlife and conservation projects close to their hearts. Through the WRCS, Dr. Mehta has studied forest birds, Indian giant squirrels, elephants, and tigers, among others.
 
Dr. Mehta is perhaps most well-known for her long-term research on the Forest Owlet. She and her team carried out an extensive survey across five states in India, searching for the Forest Owlet, and discovered two new populations in managed forests. In 2013, Dr. Mehta initiated an in-depth study of the Forest Owlet in Madhya Pradesh, looking at ecology, demography and population, and was the first study in India to use mark-recapture techniques and radio tags to monitor this species.
 
Starting in 2017, partnering with the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Dr. Mehta has been working on another project to study interactions between the Forest Owlet and seven other owl species. This study examines resource allocation between the species and how it affects habitat use, diet, breeding behavior and nesting success of all the owls.
 
Research is not the only thing on Dr. Mehta’s mind; she is dedicated to education as well. Over the years, she has trained 25 graduate and post-graduate students in owl research methodology, and six students carried out their Master’s theses on owls under her guidance. Dr. Mehta has given public and private talks, written several peer-reviewed publications, and published a technical manual called “All About Owl Diet.” This photographic guide shows keys to identify prey remains in owl pellets, and is the first publication of its kind in India. Dr. Mehta has also worked closely with the Forest Department, and her work has led to several areas of owl-occupied forest becoming protected from logging.
 
To bring home the importance of owl conservation, Dr. Mehta has also involved local communities. She is works closely with the tribal communities living near known Forest Owlet habitat, teaching them how to make owl-themed handicrafts to supplement their income and provide an alternative to illegally cutting down trees. Dr. Mehta has also started a program called “School of Owls,” where she prepares booklets about owl awareness, has them translated to local languages, and distributes them to local communities and field staff.
 
Dr. Mehta is looking forward to continuing her research and conservation efforts on the Forest Owlet and other owls, getting researchers and policy makers interested in owls, and making India a better place for owls overall.
Milan Ruzic sitting on the ground with a baby owl on his shoulder
Special Achievement Award
Milan
Ružić, Serbia

If you’ve heard about the world’s largest urban wintering site of Long-eared Owls (500-700 owls in one city square!), you know of Milan Ružić’s work. Ružić was given a special prize by the City Council of Kikinda—the location of the wintering site—for the promotion of Kikinda as the Owl Capital of the World. He has been working with owls for more than 20 years doing education, rehabilitation and research on owls in Serbia, and this has earned him a Special Achievement Award from the World Owl Hall of Fame.

Ružić is active at the Serbian Owl Conservation Centre and is currently the CEO of the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia (BPSSS). The BPSSS is the largest nature and bird conservation NGO (non-profit organization) in Serbia, and they connect citizens to wildlife rehab centers. Each year they help facilitate the rehabilitation of at least 150 Long-eared Owls, 90 Little Owls, Barn Owls and Scops Owls, and occasionally other species such as Eagle Owls, Tawny Owls, Ural Owls and Short-eared Owls.

Rehabilitation alone does not qualify someone for the Hall of Fame, and it’s far from Ružić’s only involvement with owls. He and his team also run research and conservation programs for all 10 owl species that breed in Serbia, including placing nest boxes for most of these species across the country. Ružić is especially successful in attracting young conservationists, bringing in 250 volunteers to survey Long-eared Owl roosts between 2006 and 2010. All residential owl species, along with other bird species, are included in the Red List of Birds of Serbia, which was largely done by Ružić and his team and has set standards for legislative owl protection on a national and international level.

A key requirement of winning a World Owl Hall of Fame award is sharing information and educating the public. In addition to rehabilitation and conservation, Ružić has also done a lot for owl education in Serbia and around the world. He has given more than 30 talks about Long-eared Owls and other Serbian owls, including at the International Ornithological Tourism Fair in Spain and the Owl Conservation Conference in Poland. He has also given presentations as part of the International Owl Center’s Owl Expert Speaker Series. Serbian national TV broadcasted a documentary series called “Urban Birds” featuring 5 owl species and was presented by Ružić and his team. This TV show was viewed by an average of 1.5 million people in Serbia, plus many more in the Western Balkans. Perhaps the most important video about Ružić and the Long-eared Owl roosting phenomenon in Serbia was a 2-minute segment included in the Planet Earth II series on the BBC.

Milan Ružić is still young, so we expect to see more from him in the owl world in the future.


The 2025 international festival of owls is made possible by:

Major Sponsors
International Owl Center logo: line art of the face of a Great Horned Owl in maroon with the text
Vendi Advertising logo:
Houston Public Schools logo: Four long, curved silver triangles forming the shape of a hurricane inside a red circle, surrounded by a gray circle with the text
Houston Public Schools
Bob Kierlin and Mary Burrichter
●
​​Elizabeth Callender King Foundation

$1,000 Great Gray Owl Enthusiasts
Altra logo:
Kiwidyne logo: A vertical gradient of sky blue to white. The text
Driftless Art Academy logo: A dark blue-gray box with three blue spatters and a large blue paint smear. Overlaid is
Picture
Rushford State Bank logo: Two green shapes like bluffs with a white river curving between them and two simple black birds flying above. To the right,

$500 Great Horned Owl Advocates
Zumbro Valley Audubon logo: A green square with the white silhouette of a songbird sitting on a branch, leading into white text of
Prairie Moon logo: A light gray circle with the outlines of purple wildflowers with the text

​​$250 Barred Owl Contributors
MiEnergy logo: in lowercase letters,
New Albin Savings Bank logo: A circle containing swirling blue, green and white shapes, with the text
AcenTek logo: The word
Picture
Lions logo: A blue and yellow circular design with a large
Houston Lions

​​$100 Screech Owl Supporters
Bluff Country Financial Services    ●    Caledonia Veterinary Clinic      ●    Houston Dental Clinic    ●    Houston Hoedown Days    ●    JT's Bar & Grill    ●    ​Money Creek Haven    ●    Mound Prairie Mutual Insurance    ●    The Sawmill Inn     ●    ​The Wen Inn

The International Festival of Owls would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors.
Please contact us for information on having your business or organization become a sponsor, and please patronize our sponsors.

Many thanks are due to our prize donors and the army of volunteers that make this event possible.