Volume 13, Number 2, 2005
It’s 6:30 p.m. on a mild fall Friday, and White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, Del., is dark and silent. In an upstairs room of the Chambers House Nature Center, which is surrounded by tall trees, Scott Haldeman, AG ’05, is talking to a group of 20 visitors.
“How many of you have seen an owl in the wild?” he asks. Nearly every hand goes up.
It’s the opening segment of Haldeman’s “Owl Prowl” program, one of a variety of ways in which the wildlife conservation major interacts with the community on a regular basis. Through his work at the park’s nature center, Haldeman teaches children and adults about the local environment and its inhabitants.
He says that educating people about the ecological balance in the area and instilling respect for wildlife and the environment are the goals of every job he takes on
at White Clay. Whether he is leading young children on a geology tour through the park or taking part in a hawk watch, Haldeman uses the center’s abundant resources and natural surroundings to share information about the local ecosystem.
Leading his first Owl Prowl this night, Haldeman continues his introduction by giving the audience details about the popular night dweller. Although owls have no teeth, he says, they remain one of the best nocturnal hunters, thanks to their sophisticated eyes, which allow them to see twice as well as humans.
“Owls can also hear in three dimensions,” he says. “These birds of prey not only hear how close something is to them, but also how high up it is.”
After showing a brief video detailing how an owl eats its prey—by swallowing it whole—Haldeman prepares the visitors to head out into the woods on their own Owl Prowl.
“Sometimes we don’t get to see any owls,” he says. “But, with any luck and the full moon of Halloween approaching, we’ll be able to see some tonight.”
As the lights of the nature center are turned off one by one, the participating parents, children and college students mill around outside, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. When the last light goes out, Haldeman emerges from the nature center to lead the group 100 yards away to its first destination.
The prowlers silently gather around a small, leafless tree as Haldeman hangs a sound box from one of the lower branches. He presses a button on the tape recorder, and hoots and howls of a screech owl fill the air. The crowd waits eagerly, hoping for a live bird to return the recorded hoot.
After 10 minutes with no response, Haldeman switches to his barn owl recording. “The barn owl is friendlier and more locally abundant,” he says. “This owl is distinguished from other owls by its unique voice—a kind of rasping hiss, rather than the hoot associated with other owls.” The group waits, but, again, no luck.
As the children grow restless, Haldeman leads the group down the trail to a different location, where he sets up his equipment to play the barn owl cry again. The swooping of wings is heard overhead. The children gasp and whisper loudly, “I see one!”
Haldeman sighs with relief. His first Owl Prowl has been a success.
“Inside the nature center, animals are much easier to spot,” he says later, with a laugh. “We have everything here from raccoon skins to frog tanks to stuffed owls. Visitors can pick up owl claws, practice shell excavation and read up on their favorite wild animal.”
Because of a regional rumor that White Clay Creek State Park is home to wild cougars, Haldeman says he often fields questions about the animal. “I’ve never seen any, but reliable sources say we have two,” he says. “They think they are a male and a female because they’ve seen cubs.”
For as long as Haldeman can remember, he says, he has wanted to work with animals in their natural habitat.
“When I was 5 years old, I knew I wanted to be involved with wildlife for the rest of my life,” he says. “I came inside the house one day with an insect on my hand, which completely disgusted my mom. I said, ‘This is the most beautiful bug in the whole wide world.’” He used this early memory to draft his University admissions essay.
Now a senior, Haldeman splits his time between classes and his job at the nature center. When he graduates in May, he says, he plans to look for full-time work in environmental education and eventually attend graduate school.
While his family and friends express concern about the humble paycheck the typical environmental educator earns, Haldeman says his goals are clear. “It’s not about the money for me,” he says. “I’ll enjoy my life as I go because I love what I’m doing.”
—Christina Hernandez, AS ’06