A pair of barn owls staying in Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area’s nest box has produced eggs. You can watch the couple as they prepare for the hatch at on.IN.gov/goosepondfwa, then scroll to the middle of the page to the link saying, “view live feed from the Visitors Center.”

The laying season for barn owls can begin as early as March, and their clutch usually contains four to seven eggs, according to state ornithologist Allisyn Gillet. Barn owls usually lay their eggs once every two to three days and start incubating their eggs right away. Once the barn owl chick is fully developed, after 29-34 days, the chick will use an egg tooth to break through the shell in a process called pipping. It can take more than 12 hours for the chick to hatch completely from the egg after pipping. The eggs at Goose Pond started to appear around mid-April, so their hatch date would be sometime in mid-May.

Once the eggs have hatched, a male will bring in small mammals the female then tears into small pieces to feed their owlets. Because the hatching doesn’t happen all at once, the older owlets hatching first are usually stronger. If there are plenty of resources, all the owlets in a clutch have a good chance of survival, but if resources are scarce, only the stronger, older owlets may survive. DNR does not interfere in these routine natural events.

Barn owls are an endangered species in Indiana due to grassland habitat loss. Fewer than 50 nests are found annually in Indiana. To provide barn owls with secure nesting sites protected from predators, the DNR has built more than 400 nest boxes and erected them in barns and other structures with suitable habitat over the last 30 years.

The nest box at Goose Pond was first completed in March 2022 and first occupied in February 2024.

IDNR Meeting for public comment on Liberty Mine permit application

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Reclamation will conduct an informal conference from 1 to 2 p.m. CT on June 8, 2026, at the Boonville-Warrick County Public Library, for the purpose of receiving public comments concerning the S-366-4 Liberty Mine permit application. The application seeks a permit for expanding the mining area.

The informal conference will be livestreamed at the following link:https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/297970017733486?p=yXN755irps6lqbUgem 

Meeting ID: 297 970 017 733 486 and Passcode: BC2uL66j

High water facility impacts at Monroe Lake

The public needs to be aware Monroe Lake is a flood control reservoir. Holding excess water to minimize flooding impacts on downstream homes, businesses and farms is why the reservoir was built. During high water periods, fulfilling this purpose sometimes results in reduced access to recreation facilities and backwater areas. As Memorial Day weekend approaches, please be aware the below areas are impacted by high water as of May 18.

High water completely covered the swimming beach at Paynetown SRA on May 18.

The swimming beaches at Paynetown and Fairfax SRA will NOT open for Memorial Day weekend. They are completely underwater. Beaches will remain closed through at least the end of May, but property managers cannot make any further predictions.

The main boat ramp at Cutright SRA is closed; however, the high-water boat ramp at Cutright SRA is open. All other boat ramps are open.

Fishing piers at Paynetown and Cutright SRAs are inaccessible.

Sections of the Tree Trek Trail at Paynetown SRA and the Osprey Trail and Homestead Trail at Fairfax SRA are currently underwater. Be aware you may need to backtrack or reroute.

Road closures: McGowan Road (including access to the observation platform at Stillwater Marsh), Friendship Road (from hunter check station to Gross Road) and Stipp Road (on the east side of Cartop SRA).

The privately owned and operated Two Herons Marina, Lake Monroe Boat Rental, Lake Monroe Sailing Association, and FourWinds Lakeside Inn and Marina are open.

Flora Field Days at Monroe Lake

Want to work on your flora identification skills? Practice with a naturalist. Field Day emphasis is on proper use and application of an ID key, which opens the door to identifying thousands of species. The naturalist will work with each attendee based on their prior experience. If you’ve never worked with flower ID before, it is a great way to learn. If you have prior experience, it is a fun way to practice your skills (and maybe add some new blooms to your life list).

One of the plants found at Lake Monroe is Sweet Cicely which grows on the forest floor. The plant has broad, fern-like green leaves and small white flowers.

Flora Field Days are offered at Monroe Lake during the first week of each month from May through October. Sessions are free (but may require a park entrance fee, depending on the location). Registration is required, so the naturalist can email directions to the meeting location and other information.

Sign up and register for all sessions at tinyurl.com/florafielddays. For the session on June 3 at 9 a.m. at Underwood Park you must register by June 1.

‘till next time, 

Jack

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication or e-mail Jack at jackspaulding1971@outlook.com. Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download.