Alone at anchor in a beautiful cove on a perfect night. A Great Horned Owl began to howl cued by the setting sun, eventually flattering me with answers as my calls progressed from pathetic to feebly realistic. We settled in the cockpit with pillows and sleeping bags contributing in turns to a progressive ghost story--Reece's additions 1 through N: "and then a (car, truck, bus,...) ran over them." The stars were spectacular; Kallan learned to identify the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and the North Star, both kids saw the Milky Way, and Carl and I each spotted 3 shooting stars.
We identified the owl by memorizing its call and looking it up on the internet when we returned home. The call was a typical pair calling sequence (http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=virginianus). A friend subsequently lent us the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, which is a beautiful story of a child and father tracking Great Horned Owls on a winter night by mimicking their calls.
We identified the owl by memorizing its call and looking it up on the internet when we returned home. The call was a typical pair calling sequence (http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=virginianus). A friend subsequently lent us the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, which is a beautiful story of a child and father tracking Great Horned Owls on a winter night by mimicking their calls.
No comments:
Post a Comment