Students congregating around an owl nest near Faraday and Davis halls could be causing more problems than they realize.

“It’s nice to go and look at the owls,” said Ken Bowden, assistant geography professor, “but don’t hang around. You might cause the parents to abandon the babies.”

The NIU grounds crew put up rope barriers last week to help protect four Great Horned Owls from curious passersby.

Bowden said that the Great Horned Owl is common in the DeKalb area along with the Screech Owl.

“We probably have several nests on campus, it’s just that this is the only one students know about.” Bowden said.

“There was some concern for the baby owls which are nesting in the tree. People getting too close may endanger the owls. I think (putting up the ropes) was a good precautionary measure,” J. Carroll Moody, executive secretary of the University Council said.

Moody and Bowden both agreed that concern for the owlings is just. One of the birds fell from the tree last week and was nurtured back to health by a woman in Sycamore, Moody said.

The owls are carnivorous and eat rabbits, squirrels and mice. However, the owls mostly eat other birds such as blackbirds, scarlets and pigeons.

Bowden said that the main adversaries of the owls were blackbirds and crows.

“Five or seven crows may get together and try to scare them away,” Bowden said.