Article content continued

When Miazga arrived, Safe Wings was already there along with nature photographer Wilson Hum and some other dedicated owl watchers. Miazga put on his climbing spurs and “buck strap” and rigged up a lifeline for added safety as Hum snapped pictures with his iPhone.

“We found a small sack and we put a couple of soft towels inside to make it nice and squishy. I tied that to me and climbed up,” he said.

The nest was about 10 metres off the ground and Miazga had to dodge showers of falling ice as he made the rescue.

“I got up there, found the birds nest, got myself in position and could see the two little baby owls in there. They were pretty lively. They were taking a couple of nips at me, but they were pretty cute.

“I just picked them up and plopped them in the bag. When I plopped the first one in the bag, they were kind of freaking out a bit, but when I plopped the second one in the bag, they were OK because they were back together,” Miazga said with a laugh.

The owl family spent Monday night in the care of Anouk Hoedeman of Safe Wings Ottawa. The mother was critically injured, and Hoedeman wasn’t sure if she would survive. The owlets, however, were happy and healthy, and even ate a meal of frozen mice Hoedeman prepared for them.