We knew by the look on Alastair’s face that we would be surprised when we opened the box.

He had rescued the bird from a field not too far from Hessilhead. The bird he said was being attacked by buzzards. As we peeped inside the darkness, 2 bright yellow eyes stared back at us.

This was a short-eared owl, our second one of the year. The resident population of short-eared owls nest on moorland.

They don’t often come into contact with people, so even if they are injured the chances of them being found are slim.

Alastair had been alerted to the drama ongoing near Stewarton. Sure enough the buzzards were after the owl.

As Alastair approached the buzzards flew, but they didn’t go far. They had their mind set on an easy meal, and waited in nearby trees.

Alastair walked up to the owl which was pretty stressed by this time. The bird lay on the grass, head hiding in the vegetation, trying not to move. Alastair lifted the owl gently, put it in a box and drove to Hessilhead.

After a few hours the owl was more relaxed. We had left her in a cardboard box, but she managed to get out of the box and was sitting up on the edge, eyes still staring.

She is probably a continental bird recently arrived from northern Europe. I gave her a small feed and it was encouraging that she ate more food herself overnight. Fingers crossed she makes a good recovery.