Happy Dox

As one brother bangs on the birdhouse with a stick, the other is waiting with his camera. When the angry resident emerges and flies away, the third brother whispers ecstatically, “That was a tawny owl.” Armed with binoculars and cameras, the three Norwegian brothers Axel (13), Eivind (10) and Eirik (8) creep through the woods, clearly in their element. They come across all kinds of things during these adventures. Their comments reveal a wealth of knowledge of nature and its ups and downs. “That’s life,” says the eldest when they find a half-eaten wild duck. Interviewed at home, they talk about how they dream of seeing a golden eagle, one of the biggest birds in Norway. They talk enthusiastically about how fantastic this bird is, but they can also appreciate the lesser gods of the bird realm, such as the Great Tit. “If you look closely, you can see what a beautiful creature it is,” says the youngest. By winter, they still have not spotted a golden eagle, so their father takes them to a place where the creature is rumoured to dwell. But out in the wild, things never turn out quite as you expect. Or do they?