Owls of the World - Who's Watching You?

A live owl program that includes 6 owls.

Everyone loves owls! Yet, how often do you get to see an owl up close? Perhaps you've glimpsed the shadowy form of a Great-horned Owl in the beam of your headlights as you traveled a back road at night. Have you ever scanned a frozen saltmarsh or hayfield in winter, hoping to find that arctic hunter, the Snowy Owl? How about that mob of noisy crows circling a white pine tree? Have they found an owl? Join teacher/naturalist Marcia Wilson and author/photographer/naturalist Mark Wilson in sharing their passion for owls!

Owls of the World - Who's Watching You? introduces you to the owls of New England and beyond. Mark and Marcia share the field marks, signs and naturalist's skills that you can use to find wild owls without disturbing them. Next, you meet six live owls (from small to huge) up close. Everyone participates in a hooting lesson and learns tips on how to attract and protect owls near you. While the selection of live owls varies from group to group, chances are you'll meet New England's tiniest owl, the Northern Saw-Whet Owl (weighing in at 4 ounces) along with the world's largest owl, the Eurasian Eagle Owl (check out that five foot wingspan!). Other species that figure prominently in our program can include Eastern Screech Owl, Barred Owl, Barn Owl, Great-horned Owl, Snowy Owl and Spectacled Owl. Owl pellets and white wash are topics of great interest at our programs and we spend time dissecting these fascinating aspects of owl biology. For many middle and elementary schools, this ties directly to the science curriculum of the students. Treat your students or group to an educational, hooting good time!

-- To book a program call 978-649-3779 or email us at info@eyesonowls.com --

Alaska Wilderness:
Canoe Journey into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

A natural history program that includes a slide show, touch table and three live owls.

Visit Alaska's wild and remote Arctic Refuge, land of no roads, 24-hour summer sun, roving musk ox, hunting wolverine, migrating caribou and nesting snowy owls. As you visit the refuge with two seasoned naturalists, you'll meet many of the plant and animal players of America's most remote wilderness. Sweep down the braided Canning River in a 17-foot folding canoe on a 19-day adventure as you scan the river for yellow-billed loons and the river banks for grizzly bears and nesting gyrfalcons. A colorful, fast paced slide show will dazzle you with arctic beauty - brilliant louseworts blooming from inhospitable rocks, a lemming dining on mountain avens, a male buff-breasted sandpiper displaying for the nearby ladies. Study arctic hares, arctic foxes and nesting shorebirds as they race the season to get their young raised before winter returns to the tundra. Here above the Arctic Circle, learn how light and weather, mosquitoes and lemmings, play into a symphony of life in this remote arctic ecosystem.

Marcia and Mark Wilson spent 19 days canoeing the wild Canning River on the western edge of the Arctic Refuge. Floating north from a gravel bar landing strip in the Brooks Range, the Wilsons paddled their canoe some 70 miles to get an intimate view of this great arctic wilderness. With stunning photos and passionate commentary drawn from this trip and six other visits to the arctic, the Wilsons open a window on Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its summer energy. Mark Wilson is a contributing author and photographer in the acclaimed book Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The chapter he wrote and photographed recounts the canoe trip that this program narrates.

-- To book a program call 978-649-3779 or email us at info@eyesonowls.com --

Ten Wild Photos, Ten Wild Stories

A wildlife photography program that includes a slide show and three live owls.

Join noted wildlife photographer, author and naturalist Mark Wilson in a unique slide program that explores some of his best photos taken over 30 years in some surprising places. Mark will present ten select images. Each image will be discussed in depth as to how and why it was made. Supporting photos will help explain. Mark, a former staff photographer at the Boston Globe, has had hundreds of photos published in scores of magazines, books and newspapers, including a cover of National Geographic magazine. Topics of discussion include photo techniques, equipment, ethics and natural history, and staying comfortable and healthy in harsh environments. Aspiring beginning photographers and traveled veterans alike will find inspiration to assess and improve their own work. Non-photographers get to peek under the lens cap and see how a pro comes up with knock-out photos. The program winds up with a visit from several live owls, a favorite subject of Mark's. Marcia Wilson introduces the owls..

-- To book a program call 978-649-3779 or email us at info@eyesonowls.com

All text and photographs ©2010 Mark Wilson. Reuse for web or print not permitted.