Tim et al, I have the same memory of my one and only N. Hawk Owl sighting - a memorable one, indeed. Inspite of its small size, I spotted that owl as I was driving up that hill, at least a quarter mile away. He was easy to see perched atop that tall, bare tree. (Tim, your memory is better than mine on the tree i.d.!) . It's facial markings belie its size, giving it a ferocious-looking scowl, as though to say, "I'm one tough dude so don't mess with me"! I also recall how very cold and windy it was atop that mountain, but I couldn't resist watching that owl for well over an hour, and in such a beautiful, wintry, rural landscape. In spite of the wind, I did manage to get some decent photos through my scope. He was a very obliging and photogenic bird. It was a lengthy drive to Root, but a very beautiful one along idyllic country backroads. Let's hope the Mass owl deigns to grace our state with its presence. Keep those eyes to the sky and treetops. Meredith Sampson Old Greenwich -- Tim Antanaitis <timant123@yahoo.com> wrote: Here are highlights of the post from the Mass birder about the Hawk Owl: On 2/7 at about 3pm I came across a Northern Hawk Owl in Southern Worcester County. On 2/8 I saw the bird again, quickly, at about 7am near the original location. On 2/8, a search party of 8 birders split into 4 teams to search the surrounding areas. We looked from 7:30am - 5pm and were unable to find the bird. The owl was seen on farmland that abuts a marsh and several more miles of farmland. This whole area is private property and the owners want to keep their addresses private. Some of my thoughts: The only experience I have with a Hawk Owl is the one Meredith mentioned in Root, NY (2/16/03 with Kathy Hall) that was out in the middle of open farmland and kept returning to an isolated tall oak (I think it was an oak). If you use maps.live.com and zoom in and use the "hybrid" feature you can see where the most extensive open farmland areas are located, as well as the CT/MA border, and therefore try to guess where it was seen in MA. I plan on searching similar habitat in northeastern CT if I get a chance in the next few days, and others should do the same if possible. I don't know about Meredith or Kathy, but the one Hawk Owl I did see is easily in my top 5 favorites ever seen, so I'm going to do all I can to try to find another one here in CT, and who knows what else is hiding in northeastern CT. -Tim Antanaitis --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org _____________________________________________________________ Click now and invest wisely with these mutual fund resources! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2121/fc/Ioyw6i3nobGLdBZNwnVi1aOUwj28zKLDqzc430Zyi6H6MLVoG8ldBt/