I will never forget that night. Photographer Art Howard advised me to drive to Lake Mattamuskeet in January three years ago to listen to the snow geese and tundra swans. I took a digital recorder to Hyde County. It was sleeting slightly that night. The wind was moaning. My microphones picked up the lapping waters, the sizzle of sleet and the haunting sound of the swans, geese and ducks. Every winter thousands of birds from Canada and beyond migrate to this eastern NC refuge feasting on neighboring fields by day and returning to the water at night. I could barely see the birds but I could hear their mournful cries. The experience was so moving that I wrote a song called "Mattamuskeet" featuring the natural sounds of that magical night. "Mattamuskeet" became part of the CD "Peaceful Journey" and has been played around the world on radio stations and satellite television. When I think about that night I can't help but wonder why the Navy wants to put a landing field in the middle of this amazing natural wonder of North Carolina. Please listen to the song:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/leslie