A perfect storm of work obligations gave me the opportunity to visit two of our state's supreme spots for wintering raptors, back to back. Yesterday evening I visited Killdeer Plains with just 90 minutes to spare before sunset. Granted I didn't get to spend a lot of time looking, but I failed to find any Long Eared Owls in the primary pines (---I've lost track of how many 'strikes' I've had!---), though I did find one tree absolutely covered in whitewash. (Not sap---thick, sheeny, mottled whitewash.) I spent a good 25 minutes peering into this tree from every possible angle and found no owl---but I'm not so naive as to think no owl was there! In the time I had left I observed several Red Tailed Hawks, one Harrier, one very distant light Rough Legged, and a few Kestrels. Then it was time for the main event (and the reason I made the trek), the Short Eared Owl show. I stationed myself near the Sportsman's Center and ended up observing six or seven owls before losing the light. This was nothing like the spectacular shows we enjoyed last winter, when it was typical to see 15-20 owls at once, but still a marvel to watch. One of the owls flew right by my open car window---no more that 20 feet away---allowing me to snap a picture that turned out halfway decent, considering the low light. (I've posted it on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/noahcomet/ ) This morning I visited The Wilds (before some work in Zanesville). I did not see the Golden Eagle, though it wasn't for a lack of scanning the horizon from any number of elevated overlooks---that's practically all I did. International Road was the place to be for Rough Legged Hawks---probably five different birds over the course of the morning, all of them light morph. Zion Ridge provided some very good looks at a "gray ghost" male Harrier and a second---either a female or a young male. Red Tailed Hawks engaging in courtship behavior were all over, as were Kestrels on wires and posts throughout the park. I revisited the Prouty Road area where we saw a Shrike on last year's OOS trip, but didn't find anything of interest there. A fun double-header---no lifers, but my first SEOs and RLHs of 2012. Best, Noah ______________________________________________________________________ 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]