International Owl Center

06/06/2026

Owls can move their bills in unexpected ways...
End-of-video photo of Jo with Ruby the Great Horned Owl by Mike Poeppe.

06/05/2026

Be like Mini Hooston, get a Minnesota Wildlife Passport to Adventure, get it stamped at Minnesota's five major wildlife centers and win a prize!

Back in 2016 we created a mini version of our mascot, Hooston, and sent Mini Hooston on adventures around the world. So far he's visited owl researchers and educators in Kenya, The Netherlands, Portugal, Nepal, Saskatchewan, Oregon, South Africa, Norway, and Scotland.

You don't have to go as far as Mini Hooston to get your passport stamped! Just go to the International Owl Center (Houston, MN), National Eagle Center (Wabasha, MN), National Loon Center (Crosslake, MN), International Wolf Center (Ely, MN), and North American Bear Center (Ely, MN), get a stamp in your passport at each center, win an awesome decal featuring the logo on the front of the passport book, and get entered into a year-end grand prize drawing for swag from each of the five centers you visited.

Purchase a passport at any of the participating centers to get started. There's no time limit, so it's OK if it takes you more than one year to visit every center.

06/04/2026

Bea the Burrowing Owl used to lay down a lot when she was an owlet, but it is very uncommon now that she is an adult. We caught her lying down on cam at home yesterday. Pierce the Barred Owl sometimes lays down on his perch at work also. (They don't lie down because their heads are too heavy, in case you've seen that on social media.)

06/02/2026

It's molting season! The odd-colored feather is Alice the Great Horned Owl's left 9th primary (2nd from the outside.)

*Permits are required to keep feathers from native birds, and the Owl Center has all the necessary state and federal permits to keep them.

05/30/2026

Did you know you can get a puzzle of Ruby the Great Horned Owl from the Minnesota Star Tribune? They took the photo of Ruby almost 12 years ago, before we opened the doors to the Owl Center. They have allowed us to use the stunning photo for postcards and more.

Enjoy solving jigsaw puzzles? You’re going to love our one-of-kind puzzles featuring exclusive and some of our very best images from our front-page news sections and award-winning photojournalists, like this photograph from our State of Wonders series. Available as a 500-piece & 1000-piece puz...

05/26/2026

🌲 Minnesota is home to a diverse amount of wildlife and iconic species. Now, a group of the state’s wildlife centers are joining together to promote wildlife education and ecotourism across the state to Minnesota residents and out-of-state visitors with a program called Minnesota Wildlife Passport to Adventure.

Set to launch on June 1, the Minnesota Wildlife Passport to Adventure is a collaboration of the International Owl Center, International Wolf Center, National Eagle Center, National Loon Center, and North American Bear Center. The purpose is to raise awareness of the other centers at each location and encourage visitors to make plans to visit all of them through a special passport program.

Stay tuned! Passports will be available at each center for $4.99 beginning June 1st, 2026!

05/25/2026

Last night we had the privilege of releasing a Barred Owl that was found with a cracked bill and eye injury on the road near Hokah, MN on April 1. Thank you to the finder, transporters (both ways!) and The Raptor Center for giving this owl a second chance at life.

05/24/2026

Bea the Burrowing Owl demonstrating how far her head turns while being totally preoccupied with something other than getting into her box to go to work this morning (which she did eventually do...so you can visit her today!)

05/22/2026

SOUND ON! JR the Eastern Screech-Owl has something to say. TRANSLATION: We have switched to summer hours. Visit JR and the other owls Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 10 -5 and catch a program any of those days at 11:00, 1:00 or 3:00. Programs are included with admission and last about an hour. This is the first time we have been open to the public on Thursdays! (Note that JR has a non-plush toy he can't eat!)

05/16/2026

We need your input on audio and accessories! The plush version of Pierce the Barred Owl is a go, thanks to the 355 of you who each pledged to purchase one already! (If you missed the boat, don't worry...you'll get a second chance once we have a final version created in 2-3 months.) Plush Pierce will have a voice box and we're working on the audio. Each time you squeeze him he'll play a different one of his vocalizations (yes, these are actually audio recordings of Pierce.) Are you OK with all of these calls? Or should we omit some? What accessories should Pierce have? (He can have 1 or 2 accessories.) We want the accessories to stick with an educational theme.