With 15 plus years of banding saw-whets on Kelleys one of my future goals
is to look for saw-whets wintering on Kelleys.  Have never confirmed birds
over wintering.  But that changed some this past  weekend.  We arrived on
the island Saturday morning and planned to do the monthly survey on
Sunday.  While making a quick stop at the Island Market, we ran into
islander, Ed Spayd.  Ed told me he had owls in his yard.  I assumed he was
talking Great Horned Owl but he told me they were my small owls.  So then I
assume he was talking Eastern Screech-Owl but he said no, it was the ones
that I band and go toot-toot-toot...  I was very leery of this but what the
heck.  We stopped at his house on the corner Huntington Lane and Upper
Cliff.  There are several dense Red Cedar trees in the yard.  We walked up
to the door and knocked.  Ed's wife, Linda, answered and pointed to one of
the cedars about 12 feet away.  I walked over, looked down under the tree
and saw the white wash.  Then looked up and there was a Northern saw-whet
about 4 feet above me.  Linda then said they was also one in the tree by
the drive that we had walked by.  We walked back and sure enough, there was
one there.  By this time Ed and Linda came out.  Linda told me that I had
told her years ago that to find saw-whets you look for white wash under the
trees.  She said she had found the first bird several weeks ago and that
the other two had just shown up or she had just found them in the last few
days.  To which I said other two?  She said, yes there was another in the
tree near the street.  It took some effort but we found this third bird.
All three owls are within 30-40 feet of each other.  All the roost trees
have white wash and pellets under them.  Now I wonder how many more are
around...

Ed and Linda welcome visitors to see their owls.  I could see but not read
a band on one of the birds.  The other two made it impossible to see their
legs.  Now if only I could read the band...  Is it one of my birds?  Are
there more owls close by?  Too many questions and too little time.

Tom

--
H. Thomas Bartlett
Tiffin, Ohio
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