It's been a while since we had a new bird!

High overcast, in the mid-fifties, no wind - we decided to meet for our Wednesday walk on the bridge where the roadway crosses the Oyster River. It's often a good spot to look down on birds feeding and sheltering in the brambles.
Today's lucky birders: Lynn and Sue
Today's birds:
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Rock Pigeon, Columba livia
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus
Barred Owl, Strix varia

http://yourmlssearch.com/UserFiles/Image/Barred_Owl_3_compressed.jpg
American Robin, Turdus migratorius
American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus
Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula

So, the owl. First we checked down in the brambles on the west side of the road and flushed lots of robins, and the mockingbird, and kept hearing little "chips" on the other side of the road. Expecting sparrows, I walked further down the road to where the good sparrow habitat is, and peered over the stone wall into the bushes and vines. Lynn, however, went straight across the road and looked down into the small trees that border the river. She immediately called me to where she was, with excited hand gestures - as in, look!! down here!! quick!!
We were looking not even twenty feet down on a beautiful Barred Owl - who looked up at the commotion above him and promptly flew off. We followed his flight and found him again further away.
Wow, after that, the sparrows and chickadees didn't much matter!!