I've only been back in Seattle for a couple of weeks (BTW, thanks for?all the 'welcome homes'!),?and the neighborhood kids relentlessly hounded me to take them owling.? Doggone it, we failed to hear/see?Barred owls in Schmitz Park.? And, this used to be a regular spot for them.? Has anyone else had recent luck with them there??

Next, we visited a West Seattle pocket park where I had the kids practice their listening skills, a difficult thing to do with 7 kids aged?4 to 10. Thank goodness, two Western screech-owls started calling nearby.? You can only imagine those kids' eyes.? They really didn't care that they didn't see the birds.?

In my absence, my neighborhood is changing.? There are many more households of youngsters, and?many of these? families?have?budding birders.? My heart warmth!? And, I?believe?there's nothing like a successful owl prowl to hook them into birding for life, so I am glad they asked me to take them out tonight.??

When I quizzed these kids about why an owl can hear so well or why they fly silently,?a?5-year old knew the answers.???I didn't know the answers until I took one of?Jamie Acker's classes, and I won't tell you how old I was then.????

If anyone has suggestions for Barred owls in West Seattle, please let me know off listserv.?

Georgia Conti
Seattle
206-979-9961
antep9 at ao
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com