Dick Hoopes saw one bird Monday evening in very poor light. We arrived this morning at 6:45am in hopes of confirming his LIFE bird. It appeared about 7:00am but only hunted a short while before going to ground and staying there. The light was too poor for pictures. We came back this afternoon and were rewarded with 3 birds about 5:00pm. Two birds were very visible for about 15 minutes and a third made a brief appearance to the SE. They were seen all around the pavilion - north, west, south and east. Their acrobatics are amazing! The picnic pavilion is the best spot to see them as they hunt the entire prairie. There are people who regularly use the trails for exercise and dog walking but they are few and the birds did not seem to mind their walking. They would just move to another part of the meadow. In recent years these birds have made a one day appearance but they have now been observed 3 times in 24 hours. PLEASE TRY TO STAY AROUND THE PAVILION TO OBSERVE THEM. IT SEEMS TO ACT LIKE A BLIND AND THEY MOVE FREELY ALL AROUND. IF WE DO THIS THEY JUST MIGHT STAY AROUND AND GIVE MANY PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE A SHORT-EARED OWL IN GEAUGA COUNTY. The light makes photography difficult. I took about 30 pictures and only a few were even passable - most looked ethereal! You can go this link to see them https:[log in to unmask] Please don't even try flash photography as the distances are too great to be effective and it may cause the birds to leave. Matt Valencic Geauga County ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]