Like visiting a museum after hours, or getting backstage for theater, we had previously signed up online and now gathered at 6 p.m. as the darkness was deepening. A resident Great Horned Owl (deep-voiced male) was calling for a mate, so the leaders directed us silently and stealthily out to the starlit patio for a listen before the indoor part of the program began. We got to hear recordings of the three most frequent owls around (west) Michigan: the tiny Eastern Screech, the middle-weight Barred, and the big one, the Great Horned Owl (not counting the massive Snowy Owls that sometimes pass through). After some Q and A, half the group was led by S. for a close-up talk with the injured, sheltered owls of the Center. The other half was led by L. into the starry night woods on the wide trail to call for the owls. Later the group visited the outdoor residential spaces for the bobcat, for the albino mink, and for the (endangered) Barn Owl with its snakey neck movement and white face and front. So much owling tonight, so close-up! What a rare opportunity to learn this part of our world that mostly is unseen and unsearched.