Elusive hunters emerge

Gasps and hoots echoed over the crowd as Sophie, an eastern screech owl, emerged from her wooden abode onto the arm of her keeper.

To get a good look, she eyed the more than 100 adults and children gathered Wednesday evening at the Halyburton Park Visitor Center by turning her little brown head around almost 270 degrees.

Like most of the birds that participated in the park's "birds of prey" program, Sophie, who was hit by a car, will never be able to fly again, said Michaeleen Farrington, education director for the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter.

The shelter in Newport works to rescue and rehabilitate injured animals; most times the animals make it through, but in cases like Sophie's, they must forge a new life in captivity.

Farrington said Sophie is near retirement age now, after having spent years educating hundreds of area residents about nocturnal predators.

Dinah, a barred owl, and Phoenix, a peregrine falcon, accompanied Farrington in her presentation as part of Halyburton's Wednesday Evening Nature Series, which generated interest from both tots and grandpops.

Participants came face to face with these aerial hunters while Farrington described their habitats, diets and behavior. Falcons and owls are not your ordinary backyard birds. They are hunters equipped with enhanced vision and hearing to spot and kill prey.

Vickie Lapp, a New Hanover County teacher, said she has taught classes about barred owls for six years, but this was the first time she has seen one in person.

"Literature can tell us about them," said Lapp, who brought her son and student to the event, "but I think being able to see them live makes them more fascinating."

Farrington said it is the elusive nature of these birds that attracts the public.

"You don't seem them," Farrington said. "There is a mysterious quality to them that's very attractive to people, and in general, people are attracted to wild things."

Metro desk: 343-2217