John Deshler is a wildlife biologist and computer scientist. He has researched the nesting ecology of Northern Pygmy-Owls in Forest Park for 15 years, exploring relationships between the species' reproduction, diet, body size, timing of nesting, and habitat. He has authored peer-reviewed science articles on Northern Pygmy-Owls (Ornithological Applications, Wilson Journal of Ornithology) and recently wrote the definitive reference on the species' natural history for Cornell University's Birds Of The World online resource. His work has been featured in the High Country News and on Oregon Public Broadcasting (Oregon Field Guide). He is currently exploring pygmy-owl taxonomy by comparing vocal, genetic, body size, and geographic variation within the Glaucidium gnoma subspecies complex and its close relatives. John has an MS in biology and a BS in computer science. He holds a master banding permit from the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory and various state permits. For several years he worked as a wildlife biologist in the Bull Run Watershed on the Mount Hood National Forest. "The Pygmy-Owls of Forest Park" is his first novel.