Successful Owl Trip
Harry Fisher (fish8553@dpnet.net)
Sat, 31 Oct 1998 01:00:38 -0500
Hi All:
Sleep eludes me, here I am. Why fight it?
All the recent publicity efforts made by the Cecil Bird Club yielded
results tonight beyond our wildest dreams- a mind boggling **70** people
attended the Turkey Point " Happy Owl-oween " Owl Walk. Last year 4
showed up. For a large crowd, it went amazingly well. People( even
children) were quiet and attentive. Good thing, or we would have hurt
them!! We hated to turn people away as we`re on an active member
recruitment.
Scott Powers did an amazing job with his Screech, Great Horned and
Saw-whet calls; all three species responded. Even some foxes were
heard! Unfortunately, we could get none( owls) in the spotlight, but
it was very " Halloweeny" to have 5 Screech Owls calling at once. It
was a beautiful, mild evening with no wind, well lit with moon and
stars. It was quite a magical scene, 70 people in a moonlit meadow,
surrounded by forest, all in a reverent silence to hear the owls call.
For many, it was a first time trip. I bet they won`t forget it.
The only thing to mar an otherwise memorable evening was one malcontent(
and there is one in every crowd) who was heard to loudly remark " this
is ridiculous, people came to SEE owls, not HEAR them. I guess she
thought the owls would obligingly fly right out of the woods and jump up
and down on conspicuous perches.( The nature of the beast was explained
at the beginning). I suppose there will always be those folks who
assume sightings are guaranteed.
Leslie Fisher
Cecil Bird Club
North East MD
" One has only to consider the life force packed tight into that puff of
feathers to lay the mind wide open to the mysteries- the order of
things, the why and the beginning." Peter Matthiesson- The Wind Birds