Hi. I saw a bird of prey in the Oval (Ohio State University, Columbus 
campus) yesterday. It was quite large, with a large curved beak, possibly 
black. It had black stripes or patches around its eyes. Its front plumage 
was off-white with black spots mixed in. Its back plumage dark brown with 
off-white spots mixed in. As for behavior, it basically just sat perched 
on the branch of an oak tree. Then, it took off and flew across the oval 
at a really low altitude, probably no more than 15 feet from the ground, 
but perhaps less. I don't know where it went. What kind of bird do you 
think it was? at first, I thought it was a peregrine falcon. So, I went 
home and looked at some images of them on the Web. Although I have the 
impression that this bird is some sort of falcon, I see it as much bigger 
than the peregrine. Thank you for your assistance in the identification of 
this beautiful creature. 
 
John Saxon

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