A FLYING visit by two owls proved a hoot for residents at a Dorset care home.
Beebo, a five-year-old tawny owl, and Nibbly, a black barn owl aged two and a half, were special guests at Colten Care’s Castle View home in Dorchester.
Both normally live at the New Forest Owl Studio in Downton, Wiltshire, but were brought to meet residents by their owner, Cherry Barlow.
She displayed the owls to 23 residents in the lounge and also visited individual bedrooms.
Cherry, who is Chair of the Dorset and South Somerset Group of the Hawk and Owl Trust, said: “This is a wonderful way of bringing the outdoors inside for people who may not be able to get to our centre.”
Sue Godwin, Castle View’s activities organiser, said residents made the owls feel at home by stroking their chests and letting them sit on their arms.
She added: “It was our first birds of prey visit and is just one of the many varied and interesting activities which our residents enjoy on a regular basis.
“Everyone was very excited to see the beautiful owls except for one: Bonnie, our pet budgie.
“We had to cover up Bonnie’s cage while the owls were in the lounge, not because they would have threatened her but because she may have become upset at seeing them.”
