A chilly bike ride around this MetroPark NW of Columbus produced a few interesting sightings including Barred Owl - the bird from last year is back 'on post' in the broken-off beech tree along the Multi-use trail northwest of the main parking area. The tree appears to have lost a portion of trunk, so the bird has less shelter and might move on to another tree soon. Woodpeckers - many Red-bellies, Downies, & Flickers in the several woodlands along the trail; apparently the beech mast crop is good. Blue Jays - some 24+ in an hour, a number twice what can usually be found here in winter E.Bluebird - 19 in an hour, far above the normal numbers here in winter; one flock near the wind turbine contained 13 birds plus some house finches. Oddly, many of the bluebird flocks I've run across in the last 2 weeks have had finches with them, an unusual partnership. Rob Thorn [log in to unmask] EarthLink Revolves Around You. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. 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]