Hello!

Early this evening while traipsing through the snow at Highbanks, I heard a
pair of Great-Horned Owls calling to each other along the spur trail leading
to  the Adena mound off of the Dripping Rock trail.  This is the same area
where a pair nested and produced owlets last year.  I have heard this pair
fairly consistently in this area since Christmas Eve evening.  This  evening, the
calling female was sitting in a tree all puffed up in plain  view just east of
where the spur takes a 90 degree turn to the south.   We stared at each other
for awhile (I blinked first) before I moved on back  towards the nature
center.

At a feeder under a Norway Spruce at the corner of the main park road  and
the first left turn into the Oak Coves area, I saw a Field Sparrow  feeding with
White-Throated and American Tree Sparrows.  Earlier in  the day, Bruce
Simpson, naturalist at Blendon Woods Metro Park, told me that he  saw a Field
Sparrow at a feeder outside of the Nature Center window while  at Highbanks a day or
two ago.  Apparently, this may be the  same bird.

In addition to the pair in the Adena mound area, a second pair of
Great-Horned Owls is nesting once again  in the sycamore tree in the ravine  adjacent to
the Mansion area (for the 5th time in the last 6 years of which I  know).
This tree can be observed from the segment of the Dripping Rock  trail adjacent
to the back loop of the pet trail.  Several times over the  past month or so,
I have observed the male roosting in an evergreen tree on the  edge of the
ravine near the sycamore, and Chrissy Pheifer (Highbanks naturalist)  saw the
male perched on the lip of the bowl in which the nest is  located a few weeks
ago.  During an owl hike led by Doc Jordan of  Highbanks on Feb. 3rd, this same
pair were heard calling to each other in the  area around the sycamore tree.
Just as last year, there apparently will be  two known Great-Horned Owl pairs
nesting in Highbanks with hopefully the same  successful results as last year.

On January 20th, I heard a pair of Screech Owls calling in the area of the
Adena mound, and Doc Jordan and others heard one calling near the junction of
the Dripping Rock and Overlook trails during the Feb. 3rd owl hike.  At
times, the resident Barred Owls have been seen along the main road just past the
ranger office turn-off and in the loop of the pet trail that runs through a
wooded area.  So anyone hiking along the trails at Highbanks may want  to keep
their eyes and ears open for up to three different owl species.

Highbanks is in southern Delaware County just south of the intersection of
U.S. Route 23 and Powell Road.  Directions to Highbanks can be found at
_www.metroparks.net_ (http://www.metroparks.net) .  If anyone would  like more
specific directions to the location of the sycamore tree containing  the owl nest,
please e-mail me privately or ask one of the three naturalists at  Highbanks
(Suzan Jervey, Chrissy Pheifer, or Doc Jordan).

Rob Lowry
Powell, Ohio

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