Long-Eared and Saw-Whet Owls once again eluded me and fellow birder (and
fellow veteran of several such trips to Killdeer Plains) Aaron Milenski,
but, as always, the trip to Wyandot County was anything but disappointing.

We checked all the usual spots for the owls, and did find two Barreds in
the so-called "primary owl pines" (with the posted wooden owl sign).  One
Barred (found by Aaron's keen eyes) was extremely cooperative and sat in
the same high perch all day long watching us, no doubt entertained by our
slow, crane-necked amble through the timber looking for whitewash.  (Lots
of sap, not much poop; perhaps it's still a bit early for the LEOs.)  The
other was flushed and flew through the pines to end up mobbed by songbirds
at the far end---we felt quite bad about that.  The secondary pines yielded
a few suspicious patches of whitewash, but no owls.

Bald Eagles (mostly young ones) were abundant, as were Red Tailed Hawks.
We had at least two Rough Leggeds near the southern border of the area,
numerous Harriers (no adult males) and---surprisingly---only one Kestrel.

We were lucky enough to spot two Northern Shrikes, both of them along
CR-71, east of 115.

Another highlight was a very showy Ring-necked Pheasant, who kept wandering
out into the middle of 71 to peck at something on the road.  We got very
good looks at him.  It was fun watching him waddle at high-speed to get
back into the thickets at the roadside whenever the car would approach,
only to see him in the rearview mirror, once again waddling back into the
road.

We were not able to stick around for the Short-Eared Owls.

Best,
Noah

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