Hello! The past two "winter" afternoons/evenings, I bundled up and hiked the Dripping Rock trail (including the trail spur to the Adena mound) and the back half of the pet trail of Highbanks Metro Park where I observed the following notable birds: Louisiana Waterthrush-shocked to hear my first of the year unbelievably singing in the cold this evening in a ravine along Dripping Rock southwest of the last parking lot in the Oak Coves area. I followed his singing to try to see him but he flew off chipping his alarm note before I could put an eye on him. Great-Horned Owl-this evening, saw 1 up the ravine from the sycamore where the suspected nest is located, later heard a pair calling behind the Adena mound. Still hoping to see owlets in this tree soon as the last 2 years owlets were seen during the first week of April. Swamp Sparrow-saw 5 yesterday along the pet trail (4 of them in the back loop) Fox Sparrow-saw ~10 both days along the pet trail. During every visit over the past few weeks, I have consistently observed double digit numbers (up to 40+) along the pet trail. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker-saw 3 males and 2 females today along both trails Hermit Thrush-saw 1 both days along pet and 3 additional today along Dripping Rock Winter Wren-saw 2 today along Dripping Rock Ruby-Crowned Kinglet-saw 1 today in ravine by owl sycamore tree Golden-Crowned Kinglet-saw/heard 3 or 4 both days Brown Creeper-saw 1 today along Dripping Rock Eastern Phoebe-saw 3 yesterday and 1 today along Dripping Rock White-Throated Sparrow-saw/heard ~10 yesterday and ~5 today Eastern Bluebird-saw 2 today along Dripping Rock Tree Swallow-saw 2 yesterday over back loop of pet trail Cooper's Hawk-today sitting in a tree by feeders at Nature Center watching the birds feeding seemingly uncaring about its presence Pileated Woodpecker-in tree near the Nature Center I first heard then saw a Solitary Blue-Headed Vireo singing this past Tuesday along the spur trail to the Adena mound. Also, over the past few weeks, a Barred Owl has been calling fairly regularly from an area along the Dripping Rock trail by the deck overlooking the pet trail. A week ago yesterday (March 30th), Ken and Julie Davis and myself saw a pair of Barred Owls by the portion of the pet trail that loops into the woods while hearing a third owl calling from aforementioned location along Dripping Rock. I have yet to hike the River Trail to see if any Yellow-Throated Warblers have arrived in the sycamores along the Olentangy River. Directions to Highbanks are found at _www.metroparks.net_ (http://www.metroparks.net) and a park description is on the OOS web site. Rob Lowry Powell, Ohio ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]