Look carefully as you come up the main drive to the car park. There is a Short-eared Owl currently hunting along either side of the drive, around the workshop, over the Discovery Zone and in front of the Wildlife Watchpoint Hide.
Short-eared Owl by Lockhart Horsburgh
These are birds that breed on open uplands and move to marshes and coastal grasslands in winter, but the birds that winter here tend to have arrived from Scandinavia. Short-eared Owl populations fluctuate greatly in five year cycles along with their small mammal prey populations, and this winter is a good one. They hunt during the day, but locate their prey by ear, before killing the unfortunate animal with a bite to the back of the neck. They are very charismatic birds, and it's always a thrill when a passing Short-eared Owl turns it's head to look you with it's staring yellow eyes as it sweeps gracefully by.
But please take care coming up the drive, we don't want to be pulling any cars out of a ditch.