April 1 2012, I have not been able to locate the owl for several hours, and after being up since 0200 am really running out of gas. Time to call it a day. Keep in mind the Ohio List-serve going back to its inception, has a long history of mega rarities showing up on April first, so it is always wise to be cognizant of this date as one where anything is possible. That said I an very pleased that so many expressed their enjoyment of my report of this unbelievable find. For those who found themselves sucked in to the excitement of the moment, all I can say is it was all in good fun. This is not some ego trip that experts, elitists, or the in crowd, use to belittle others. Rather it is a chance for those of us who try to be impeccable in our integrity 364 days a year to let loose and have some artful fun. Speaking of artful, check out Julie Zickefoose's blog post today. Not only was there the Stygian Owl in Ohio, but a new species has evolved in West Virginia as a result of mountain top removal mining: http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-bird-species-in-north-america.html I must also point out that I was unaware that on April 1, 2009, Jim McCormac reported a prior incedent of Stygian Owl in Ohio: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.**com/2009/03/stygian-owl-in-**ohio.html<http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/2009/03/stygian-owl-in-ohio.html> Had I known this I would not have been so diligent if tracking down the "woofs" early this morning and would have found some other mega rarity to report. I will leave you with this: Unless we can make fun of the things we are most passionate about, we are not really living. Unapologetically, Haans ______________________________________________________________________ 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]