I finally managed to find the time to do a bit of urban owling.  Last
evening was a beautiful clear night so I decided to cruise some nearby
woodlots and parks in hopes of detecting some owls for the breeding bird
atlas.  My attempt was fairly successful.  In just an hour and a half, I had
4 calling Eastern Screech-Owls in 3 out of 4 total atlas blocks that I
visited...each being just 2-3 miles from my home in Grandview Heights.

It is amazing to me how common these birds actually are, especially in an
urban setting.  In some instances, it seems that screech-owls don't require
much in the way of habitat.  My most interesting observation last night came
from a small wooded park in the Marble Cliff/Grandview Heights area.  I had
tried for screech-owl in this woodlot before and without success.  I thought
that maybe the area was too small (only 6 acres!) or that maybe there
weren't enough cavities.  After a few rounds of tape playback, a bird came
right in and pretty much just watched me for about 10 minutes.  The bird
called occasionally but ever so softly.

This seemed to be the theme with all 4 of the owls last night.  They would
come right in and perch overhead but they called very softly.  It wasn't
very windy and I may have never heard them if the conditions weren't right.
When owling, conditions are everything.  North American owl survey protocols
recommend that you conduct all owling on clear nights with no/little wind.
With a full or partial moon, you can often see the birds fly in from some
distance...truly an exhilarating experience!

I encourage everyone to get out there and look for these amazing animals.
The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II can use all and any observations of this and
other nocturnal bird species.  And you don't have to go far!  These birds
are everywhere and they're being found in the smallest of wooded areas, in
or out of urban areas.

Good birding!

Aaron Boone
Columbus, Ohio

______________________________________________________________________

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]