With start of the Christmas Bird Count season today, now is the perfect opportunity to help the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II make a final push to get owls recorded in priority blocks across the state. There are still priority blocks within many CBC circles that need Great Horned Owl and Barred Owl observations. You can find a map of your circle with owl status for priority blocks on our website: http://www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/owling2011.php Though safe-dates for Great Horned Owls do not start until December 20th, many individuals are displaying territorial behavior and beginning nesting. These birds can be recorded outside of safe-dates (similarly for Barred Owls, which enter safe-dates in January). With the Atlas ending December 31, we are trying to make a big push to get undersampled owl species on the map. The Atlas has been a great success thanks to the efforts of Ohio birders. Let's end the year and the project with a bang. Please get in touch if you have any questions about owls or other bird records. Have fun on the CBC this year! Thanks, Matthew Shumar Research Associate / Project Coordinator Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II The Ohio State University School of Environment and Natural Resources 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, Ohio 43210-1085 Phone: 614-247-6458; Fax: 614-292-7432 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]