Olivia Qiu, Roselle Park Middle School

Union County

First Place, Union County, Barred Owl (c) Olivia Qiu

Barred Owl

I looked around for my tree, but it was gone. I am a Barred Owl, and I live in an urban area. As I went to another tree, a guy with gloves grabbed a chainsaw and cut the tree down. The trees were disappearing in my area. I remembered how my sisters could not lay eggs for a long time because they couldn’t find a tree. I had to lay my eggs now, but now my nest was gone forever. I decided to fly to another place. The cars honked under me, and I felt tired.

My aunt was hit by a car and she never flew again. I watched the cars zoom by as I rested on a tree. Suddenly, I felt the tree falling. Swiftly and quietly, I swooped away, thinking that I was lucky to live.

I remembered that my uncle was shot because he was found terrorizing a Northern Spotted Owl. He wanted to rest on a tree, but a Northern Spotted Owl had taken his spot.

Many other Barred Owls were also shot that day. As I came to a suburban area with more trees, I recalled my grandpa who died of a disease.

I shuddered when I thought about all the ways Barred Owls could die. I hoped that we could get off the endangered species list soon. But I was alive, so I started to build a nest, lay some eggs and populate the world with more Barred Owls.

Written by: Olivia Qiu

Roselle Park Middle School, Roselle Park

Teacher: Mrs. Carbotti