Night Flight

Big Picture Science

Owls are both the most

accessible and elusive of birds. Every child can recognize one, but you’ll be

lucky to spot an owl in a tree, even if you’re looking straight at

it. Besides their camouflage and silent flight, these mostly nocturnal

birds, with their amazing vision and hearing, are most at home in the dead of

night, a time humans find alien and scary. Ecologist Carl Safina got to

know an injured baby screech owl well. Their relationship saved the owl’s life

and gave Safina insider’s wisdom about these aerial hunters of the night.

Guests:

Carl Safina – ecologist at

Stony Brook University, head of the non-profit Safina Center, and author of “Alfie

& Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe”

Tom Damiami – natural resources

interpreter, singer on Long Island, NY and leader of the Shelter Island Owl Prowl

Gordy Slack – science writer, former senior editor

of California Wild, the science and natural history magazine published by the

California Academy of Sciences

Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake

Originally aired November

6, 2023

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