Long-eared Owl Nesting, by Josiah Van Egmond, William Van Egmond and Christian Artuso

I am sharing this outstanding blog post with permission (http://birdsinyourbackyard.blogspot.ca/2015/08/2015-long-eared-owls.html) written by Josiah Van Egmond (aged 13) and his older brother William Van Egmond – two gifted young birders whom I have had the great honour to share my love of birding with. These young men are honing their powers of observation (certainly not many 13 year-olds can say they have found an owl nest!). We observed these owls very carefully over the course of the summer and shared the joy of watching them fledge successfully and the youngsters gain their independence.  The boys were very disciplined and respectful in not visiting the nest area too often and also very patient in not publicizing their amazing find too soon, i.e. they took every precaution to minimize disturbance while making detailed and careful observations and I am very proud of them for that. We decided to do a joint blog post on the experience but the credit certainly must go to these talented young naturalists.