I finally managed to find the time to do a bit of urban owling. Last evening was a beautiful clear night so I decided to cruise some nearby woodlots and parks in hopes of detecting some owls for the breeding bird atlas. My attempt was fairly successful. In just an hour and a half, I had 4 calling Eastern Screech-Owls in 3 out of 4 total atlas blocks that I visited...each being just 2-3 miles from my home in Grandview Heights. It is amazing to me how common these birds actually are, especially in an urban setting. In some instances, it seems that screech-owls don't require much in the way of habitat. My most interesting observation last night came from a small wooded park in the Marble Cliff/Grandview Heights area. I had tried for screech-owl in this woodlot before and without success. I thought that maybe the area was too small (only 6 acres!) or that maybe there weren't enough cavities. After a few rounds of tape playback, a bird came right in and pretty much just watched me for about 10 minutes. The bird called occasionally but ever so softly. This seemed to be the theme with all 4 of the owls last night. They would come right in and perch overhead but they called very softly. It wasn't very windy and I may have never heard them if the conditions weren't right. When owling, conditions are everything. North American owl survey protocols recommend that you conduct all owling on clear nights with no/little wind. With a full or partial moon, you can often see the birds fly in from some distance...truly an exhilarating experience! I encourage everyone to get out there and look for these amazing animals. The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II can use all and any observations of this and other nocturnal bird species. And you don't have to go far! These birds are everywhere and they're being found in the smallest of wooded areas, in or out of urban areas. Good birding! Aaron Boone Columbus, Ohio ______________________________________________________________________ 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]