Rare eagle owl evades recapture

Efforts are continuing to capture Wally the eagle owl

A rare eagle owl which escaped from a falconry centre in Ayrshire two months ago has been making regular visits to a nearby care home.

Wally and his mate Annie escaped from Kelburn Country Centre during stormy weather in February.

Annie was recaptured a short distance from the centre just over a week later but Wally has so far eluded efforts to entice him back.

But Haylie House residents said the owl can be found there nearly every day.

Deputy manager Gillian Ness said he had been coming to Haylie House since his escape two months ago.

"Wally comes right up to people, one of the residents has taken a picture of him being petted," she said.

"He's obviously not frightened, he sits up on top of the fire escape and watches what's going on.

"It's a real talking point for the residents, everyone really enjoys seeing him, he's a beautiful bird."

Ms Ness said the care home kept in regular contact with the falconry centre to inform them of the sightings.

Mr Jenkinson has been Wally's handler since the owl was three-days-old

"We've had the team up loads of times and every time Wally sees someone from Kelburn he flies off, he obviously doesn't want to be recaptured," she said.

"We've seen him eating squirrels and he seems quite happy, despite losing his mate."

Alan Jenkinson has been Wally's handler since the bird was just three days old.

He said the availability of food is the crux of the problem.

"He's not hungry and that's one of the only ways we can't get him back," he said.

"We know where he's living but as soon as anyone from the centre gets close to him, he flies off.

"Letting him return to the wild isn't an option - he's a very rare, protected species and we're concerned that the longer he is away the more chance there is of him getting hurt."

He said efforts were continuing to try to recapture the four-year-old.