HOBBIES BIRD-WATCHING : Sight Unseen : Best Efforts of ‘the Rich Little of Fowl’ Fail to Turn Up Owls of Cheeseboro Canyon

There might have been an owl out there. There certainly was something, way off in the distance. And people were muttering something about it having moved.

Maybe it was an owl, but it could just as well have been a large baked potato from where we were.

The 60 people (about 20 of them children) who were standing on a dirt trail in the chill air of Cheeseboro Canyon in Agoura Hills last Saturday night desperately wanted it to be an owl. They had paid good money, $30 per family, for it to be one. They were part of “An Evening With Owls” sponsored by The Wilderness Institute.

Nature is unpredictable. When you go out looking for birds, they almost have to want to be seen, or you’re out of luck.

Fortunately, however, bird-watching is done in the great outdoors, not at a garbage dump, so it’s not just a matter of getting in touch with the birds. It’s getting in touch with all sorts of natural things. Even if the birds don’t show, at least there are trees, grass, the sky and possibly some wild animals.

And this evening, there was 36-year-old naturalist/comedian/baby-sitter Kirk Clayton, who does some great owl impressions. He’s the Rich Little of fowl.

“I studied a lot of owl tapes,” said the long-haired, bearded Clayton. “Then one day I decided to try it out, and they responded. One flew right up to me. I thought, ‘Wow, it works.’ I don’t know what I was saying, but it must have been good. I’ve just got to watch out during mating season.”

Clayton said this time of year is kind of a weird time to search for owls.

“They’re nesting,” he said, too late for us to head home, but before the two-hour, two-mile walk into the canyon.

“Sometimes they respond and sometimes they don’t. It depends on how they feel. If they don’t respond it means that they don’t want to give away where their nest is to any prey that may want a little baby owl for dessert.”

The evening began with a little storytelling and orientation. Clayton explained that owls are birds of prey and keep us from being overrun by rodents.

He told some owl stories. He even showed us owl parts.

Then came the walk. About 15 minutes into it, Clayton prepared for his first hoot. That’s how you get an owl to appear. You hoot. The air was thick with tension and the sound of frogs croaking. We were holding our collective breath, trying to keep silent.

Then Clayton hooted. Three little hoots, quiet for 30 seconds, one hoot, quiet for a minute, another hoot. He sounded realistic enough. I would have come flying at top speed if I were an owl. But no owls came. All heads turned when a bird flew by, but it was an impostor, only a crow.

Hoot 2 took place a little farther down the path. An oval silhouette hovered on a distant bush just to the left of an oak tree. “I think it’s an owl,” Clayton said. “I think what it’s doing is saying, ‘What’s going on down there?’ ” He hooted again, and an airplane flew by. The owl didn’t budge.

We continued along, Clayton hooting as we went. A girl in the group said to her mother, “I wish I had stayed home with my grandmother.”

We took a look at the stars--the Big Dipper and later Orion. It was a beautiful night.

Just before we started back, Clayton let a couple of adults and all the kids hoot, just to see if they would have any better luck. It was cute, but as one woman put it, “They sound like cows.”

But, alas, no cows flew by either.

ACTIVITIES

Other activities with our feathered friends include:

* Naturalist Kirk Clayton will lead summer “Evening With Owls” hikes in Cheeseboro Canyon, sponsored by the Wilderness Institute, June 10 and July 8. Cost is $30 (two to four people) and $5 for any additional folks. Call (818) 991-7327.

* The Ventura chapter of the National Audubon Society will hold its annual Birdathon Saturday and Sunday. Top local birders will be looking for as many species as they can find over a 24-hour period. For the moment, however, they are looking for sponsors. If you would like to support a birder, call Linda Blum at 648-6310.

* Ventura’s Audubon chapter has periodic bird walks to which the public is invited. Walks are planned for May 6 at Santa Paula Canyon and May 12 at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura. Call Carl Krause at 649-1334.

* The Ventura Parks and Recreation Department will present “Raptors Around Us,” a discussion on birds of prey, July 12 at Arroyo Verde Park. Tickets are $5 per person or $12 for a family of four. Call 658-4726.