Endangered owls spotted in B.C.

TRAIL, B.C. – A biologist says rare Western Screech owls have been sighted in the West Kootenai region of southeastern British Columbia.

Jakob Dulisse of the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation program says a screech owl nest was found in 2002, and another with three young owls was discovered last year near Fruitvale.

He and another wildlife biologist, Doris Hausleitner, found the nesting area by playing recordings of male owl territorial calls.

The owls are listed as endangered in Canada but not in the United States, although they are protected as a migratory species under U.S. federal law.