Buff coloured in the day, grey to the eye at night, this owl is sometimes called 'Farmer's Friend' because of its intake of rodents and love of farmland habitats. Some old barns in Dumfries and Galloway still have 'owl holes' to encourage nesting by this threatened species. Forestry Enterprise action near Newton Stewart and elsewhere has lead to nestboxes being built in the woodlands. The results are encouraging. A daylight hunter on moorland and above estuary grasslands, most commonly seen in winter.
Wings can meet in flight under the body, during courting displays.
An eater of voles and other smaller rodents. Present in Dalbeattie woods and hence the logo of Dalbeattie Internet . Rich chestnut summer plumage changes for winter to a speckled buff-brown more like a snipe. Godwits plunge their beaks deeply into sand and mud after the worms and other invertebrates it feeds upon. This migratory bird visits Britain in winter to feed, lifting shoreline stones in its efforts to find sand-hoppers and other invertebrates.