Mass Audobon Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary- The Owl Walk

We call him Owl Man. Well, I call him Owl Man. And not out loud. Philip Hunsaker leads one of the best activities at Felix Neck, the organized evening owl walk. It begins with people of all ages gathering in the main teaching room to listen to Philip, the resident owl expert, explain the unique characteristics of owls.

We are surrounded by stuffed birds, live spotted turtles and frogs in tanks and skeletons of all kinds. Whatever one’s age and height, there is some strange creature that will be eye to eye. Philip beckons us closer as he holds the skull of a barn owl.

He shows how owls’ eyes are fixed in their sockets so they must turn their heads to see their objects of prey. He moves the skull around to show how their heads rotate 270 degrees and uses words like “binocular” and “anastomoses.” We pass around owl skulls, owl pellets and feathers as we learn of these birds’ incredible ability to hunt their prey. His passion is contagious.

Finally Philip distributes the head lamps and we enter the night. We take a path that crosses fields, salt marshes and Sengekontacket Pond, all part of the 4 miles of pristine Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary.

Philip stops and beckons us to cluster and be silent. He raises the Identiflier (a rectangular mechanism for calling birds) and presses the button that triggers the call for a barn owl. Hoo hooooo. Hoo hooooooo. Hoo hooooo hoo hoo hoo We await the response. Nothing.

He presses the Identiflier again. Hoo hooooo. Hoo hooooo. Hoo hooooo hoo hoo hoo. Still we wait.

The Owl Man presses the Identiflier one more time. Hoo hooooo. Hoo hooooo. Hoo hooooo hoo hoo hoo. “Nope. Nothing,” our leader says. We walk on…

This pattern is repeated in different settings…in the field, by the water, in the woods. Perhaps we should use a different call. That of a screech owl… This call is even more elaborate and beyond my ability to sound out pheonetically. Let’s just say, the call on the Identiflier is amazing but no screech owl repeats the sound…

Although we don’t actually hear a single owl, it’s a wonderful evening. The moon, the stars and the bats are enchanting while the sounds of the pinkle tinks remind us all how lucky we are to be on this island and how there will be so many more pleasures to follow this summer…