.  The owls were very cooperative for me this year.  There were actually 3 different species in one park here.  The Short Eared Owls (just got the pics yesterday) were hunting moles over the fields at dusk and dawn; The Long Eared Owls were sleeping in a very open cedar tree about 50 feet in from the road for about a month (they hunt at night) and the little saw-whet owl was sleeping in about an 8 ft. tall cedar tree (he hunts at night as well).  Picture 1 Adult female Northern Harrier hunting.  Picture 2: Adult Long Eared Owl roosting in cedar tree.  Picture 3:  Close up of face of Adult Saw-Whet Owl in cedar tree.  Picture 4:  Close up of Adult Long Eared Owl. 

  Now that my brother gave me this digital camera, and Laura has been giving me a few lessons on how to interface the data with the computer, I am finally able to share a view of what I see in my numerous forays in the woods.  Today’s payoff was a particular local Island which is known for a small group of little birds called yellow-throated warblers.  Although these birds may be common down south, they are by no means common around here, and their habits of spending most of their time in the tops of 100 ft. plus sycamore trees along the river surely doesn’t help in getting a look at them.  I saw 2 last year and one the year before that.  I spent six hours out yesterday and saw one.  The first half hour I was out today, I saw eight of them in one tree.  The trick is that we are still one to two weeks before the sycamores get their leaves and that aspect of timing wasn’t made clear to me before.  I’ve lucked out by getting hooked up with a couple of older birding ladies who have phenomenal eyes and ears.  This year I will see much more than ever before and hopefully get a lot of it on disc.  I will keep you posted.  Richard