Birding Prodigy

On March 5, Hamilton, Ontario, birder Owen Novoselac (pictured here) will be presented with the Ross Thompson Trophy of the Hamilton Naturalist's Club's Bird Study Group, a “prestigious annual award [that] goes to the young birder under 18 who has spotted the most birds in a calendar year.” Own, who is just 8 and has been interested in birds since the age of 3, “is the youngest recipient in the award’s 69-year-history.” The article contains no mention of the number of birds that young Owen tallied last year, but 40 past-winners of the trophy reported an average of 219.5 species (range 108-274).