Dumb luck brought me to the Screech Owl cavity at the river crossing in Brecksville. The red morph was serenely snoozing the day away and I got plenty of great shots. Also in the area an actively-hunting RSHA, and one of the resident Bald Eagles was busily gathering nest materials. Saw one of the Tower East Peregrines on the ride home, too---not a bad raptor morning!

Noah 

On Feb 26, 2011, at 9:39 PM, Noah Comet <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear List,
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone out there can share pointers for locating the ESOs at/near the Brecksville Reservation/ Station Rd. Bridge/ Chippewa Ford Field area of CVNP.  I may head out there tomorrow and would love to find these guys!  I'd be very grateful for your help.
> 
> Since I'm posting, I might as well report a few recent sightings.
> 
> A LOT of activity at the snowy snowy snowy feeder yesterday with all the usual backyard birds but an unusual (in my experience) number of Cardinals---at least 8 were in view at any given time.  The activity came to a very sudden halt when one of the several Cooper's Hawks that seem to favor my small yard and its immediate environs showed up and stayed perched in my backyard tree (not 15 feet from my window) for about an hour. I managed to sneak the window open and brave the cold for a few minutes in order to get some unprecedentedly up-close-and-personal photographs (which I'm happy to share off-list).  This bird was a juvenile and rather large for a Coop, so I'm guessing a female.
> 
> As the Tower East building at the corner of Chagrin and Van Aken is along my regular commute, I see one or both of the Peregrines there on an almost daily basis---they seem to be thriving.  Unfortunately I've seen no activity at the RTHA nest at the adjacent cemetery; the nest appears to be filled with snow.
> 
> My parents out in Russell had another Barred Owl window-strike at their home (---I say another because they had a fatal strike almost exactly one year ago).  On their behalf I called upon the help of the miracle-workers at Penitentiary Glen, who dispatched a rehabber very quickly.  Even though the bird had barely moved on their porch for several hours in spite of barking dogs (from inside the house) and various other things, no sooner did the rehabber approach it than it flew off into the forest behind their house, so it was apparently only stunned (thank goodness).  A much better outcome than last year, but we really need to do something about those windows!
> 
> Best,
> Noah 
> (Shaker Heights; Cuyahoga)
> 

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