Michael Pistininzi - Experience

This semester I went owl watching at the Great Dismal Swamp. It was very neat to sit and wait until dusk waiting with the ornithologist guide. He had pictures of different owls we might see and had their noises recorded on a tape to play to attract them. He also had a red light to shine on the owls to spot them. The owl was this unknown night creature that I knew nothing about and as the screech owl got closer their calls got louder and louder and I felt as if this was their home and I was a visitor. I knew that they saw me way before I saw them and it took patience, and quiet to get them to trust our group and get closer tree by tree. Eventually they came right up to us and observed us from above and occasionally swooped over us. It was an awesome experience.