Owl in a what?!?

Owls are a great species of bird. Even non-birders can identify an owl from other birds. Maybe not the proper name of the owl, but at least they know of some like Snowy, Great Horned and Barn. This large family comprises around 189 living species in 25 genera. The typical owls have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica. For the record keeping of the American Birding Association(ABA), there are 23 different owls to count, but only 19 are a code 3 or less. Meaning the other 4 code 5 owls are once in a lifetime events. So, my current life owl list is at 14 for ABA, with my most current lifer, the Flammulated Owl seen 3/1/2013 in South Padre, Texas.

On Sunday morning, February 2nd, before the Columbus Audubon Bird walk, myself and team SnowBlunting member SP, went to a Westerville bike path, to see an Eastern Screech Owl that has been making his roost in the rafters of a bike bridge. Pictures below

Eastern Screech-Owls are active at night and are far more often heard than seen—most bird watchers know this species only from its trilling or whinnying song. However, this cavity-roosting owl can be attracted to nest boxes or, if you’re sharp-eyed, spotted in daylight at the entrance to its home in a tree cavity. Red and  Gray individuals occur across the range of the Eastern Screech-Owl, with about one-third of all individuals being Red. Rufous owls are more common in the East, with fewer than 15% red at the western edge of the range. No red owls are known from southern Texas, although they occur further north in Texas and further south in Mexico. Intermediate brownish individuals also occur in most population

I see you . . you see me?

zoomed out

Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl

scoping the Flammulated Owl 3/13' TX

Gray Morph Eastern Screech in TX 2013

ABA Owl history with grandpa and grandma:
They're baack! Park staff was happy to see the return of some of our favorite park visitors, Red and Louise Gambill from Ohio. If you've been to Bentsen in the morning during the winter anytime during the last 26 years, you may have seen these two walking through Bentsen on their daily walk. Red and Louise are great birders. They are credited with finding the first U.S. record for Collared-Forest Falcon(Code 5) on January 22nd, 1994 and the first U.S. record for Stygian Owl(Code 5) on December 26th, 1996. Roy, one of Bentsen's naturalists, poses with them here. If you see them at the park, make sure to say hello.

My grandparents have seen 20 of the 23 ABA species of owls in the ABA region. Only missing 3 of the hard to get code 5 rare owls(Oriental Scops-Owl, Mottled Owl, Brown Hawk-Owl). They always had seen the even harder to get now Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Elf Owl in Bentsen SP, which was always the place to bird in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

 

fall of 2012 at Bentsen State Park

 Next up:  Columbus Audubon Bird Walk at Blendon Woods Metro Park