A Dundee family have described their surprise after waking up to find a large eagle owl perched in a tree in their garden in Kirkton.
Kelsy Holt (13) was wakened by its hooting on Saturday morning and called for her mother, Lorrayne.
”I went to see what all the fuss was about and there on the tree was this big owl,” said Lorrayne. ”I looked at its features and checked on the internet, and it was an eagle owl.
”The first thing you noticed was its size and then when you studied it more closely you could see it was impressive. Its appearance was quite stunning.
”It was perched on a tree in our garden about 20 feet off the ground and stayed there for several hours, not leaving until the afternoon.
“It was there all day just sitting and watching. Other birds were making loads of noise I think they were trying to scare it off.”
A Cardross Street resident said he and his neighbour heard it hooting on Monday night and again on Tuesday morning.
Other sightings have been reported in the Clepington area, and it is thought the bird may be nesting in the area of the former Graham Street campus of Dundee College.
The eagle owl is the largest member of the owl family. With prominent ear tufts, a 6ft wingspan, a body length of 2ft 6in and the ability to kill birds as large as herons and animals as big as roe deer, the eagle owl nests from Spain in the south to Russia in the north.
It was absent from Britain until about 15 years ago when several pairs of the birds began to nest.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds say they are impressive creatures, but are not native to Britain and their impact on native fauna is not known.
The eagle owl in Dundee is believed to have escaped from a falconry, but its large flight range makes it hard to know from where. No local wildlife centres keep eagle owls.