A friend of mine that lives in rural Northwest Belmont County near Piedmont
Lake (Delorme 62 2C) called me early this morning to let me know that he was
having two Evening Grosbeaks frequenting his feeders.  Rob Kaminski and I
were there hours later in hopes of seeing the birds and we had great luck.
We watched the very cooperative birds for over an hour - one male, one
female.  Not only were they visiting feeders but they were eating dried up
grapes that were shriveled up to nearly nothing.  Residents of the area told
me there was an amazing bumper crop of wild grapes this past season.  Also
of note at this location were 4 female Red-winged Blackbirds.

We also stopped at the Wilds on our way up and back from Belmont County and
found 1 Golden Eagle near the Visitor's Center, and then later found at
least 5 Short-eared Owls near Prouty Road.  The low pressure in the
atmosphere allowed for sounds to travel a good distance, and we could hear
these owls vocalizing all around us, but from afar.  It was awesome.  We
also had the usual E. Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Rough-legged Hawks,
Harriers, and Red-tailed's.  We also saw a Belted Kingfisher near the
intersection of Zion Ridge Road and State Route 146.

On our way home on State Route 78 near the unincorporated "village" of
Meigs, which is about 4-5 miles east of McConnelsville in Morgan County, we
had a probable Barn Owl fly in front of our vehicle.  It was dark by this
time.  The view was fleeting but all we could gather was that it was a
medium to large slender owl, with very noticeable all white underparts.  It
flew directly in front of the headlights.

Glen Crippen
Burr Oak Lake



______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]