This  morning a group of friends and I did some easy local birding around 
the  Westerville-Galena area in northern Franklin and southern Delaware 
Counties.  Everyone wanted to see the two Eastern Screech Owls I posted recently. 
So we  began with the bike trail at Alum Creek Park South in Westerville. 
We parked and  began leisurely walking south on the trail from near the 
Westerville Senior  Center. Stop one, the gray morph in the tree cavity. It was 
very visible as it  sat in the cavity facing the trail with one eye seemingly 
peeking at us. After  everyone enjoyed our cooperative first on the wanted 
list bird, we continued  south on the trail picking up a few common species 
until we reached the steel  bridge over Alum Creek. There, sitting behind a 
narrow cross strut was the  rufous morph Eastern Screech Owl. The head and 
tail were visible, but the middle  was blocked, all reminding me of Congress. 
Two extremes that just don’t meet. We  retraced our path and made one last 
visit with the gray morph owl before heading  up to the Hoover Nature 
Preserve. 
Two  members of our party had never been to Old Sunbury Road in the 
preserve. I led  our flock north along the old road bed. Several Bald Eagles were 
active around  us, soaring over us at tree top level, once or twice with 
trigs in their talons.  Nest Building? A thought I like and hope for. They put 
on a great show for us.  In and near the pine stand we found Brown Creeper, 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a  shy Barred Owl. The owl spotted us before we 
spotted it and we had to watch it  fly away through the pines.  
We  next hopped over to Hoover Meadows where we picked up several Swamp 
Sparrows,  White-throated Sparrows, an American Tree Sparrow, Northern 
Mockingbird and a  group of active Eastern Bluebirds. Although our list isn’t 
extensive we were  happy with our morning as along with some nice finds we got to 
spend time with  friends. A list of our morning follows. 
Charlie  Bombaci  
Species  observed: 
Turkey  Vulture 
Canada  Goose 
Northern  Pintail (flock flew over) 
Bald  Eagle (2 or 3) 
Red-tailed  Hawk 
Ring-billed  Gull 
Mourning  Dove 
Eastern  Screech-Owl (both rufous and gray morphs) 
Barred  Owl 
Red-bellied  Woodpecker 
Downy  Woodpecker 
Blue  Jay 
American  Crow 
Carolina  Chickadee 
Tufted  Titmouse 
White-breasted  Nuthatch 
Brown  Creeper 
Carolina  Wren 
Ruby-crowned  Kinglet 
Eastern  Bluebird 
American  Robin 
Northern  Mockingbird 
European  Starling 
Yellow-rumped  Warbler 
American  Tree Sparrow 
Song  Sparrow 
Swamp  Sparrow 
White-throated  Sparrow 
Dark-eyed  Junco 
Northern  Cardinal 
Red-winged  Blackbird 
American  Goldfinch 
House  Sparrow

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