St Aidan's Nature Park: The little owls making wise moves at a Yorkshire nature park

The nearby RSPB visitor centre includes the Little Owl Cafe in recognition of this.

Of all the owls the little is perhaps the wisest because of its association with Athene, Greek goddess of wisdom. It is the UK's smallest owl, a mottled brown and white and with a heavy white brown giving it a frowning appearance..

The little owl is not native to this country but the result of introductions during the 19th century including one in the 1840s by the pioneering Yorkshire naturalist Charles Waterton.

His attempts to release Italian caught owls on his estate at Walton ended in failure but other large scale releases elsewhere proved more successful.

The owls were admired by many people - Florence Nightingale had one called Athene and which often travelled with her in her pocket. When it died it was stuffed and is now on display at the Florence Nightingale museum in London.

There are now between 5,000 and 12,000 pairs of little owls in England, Wales and part of Scotland and they have succeeded in finding their own niche in our countryside.

They prefer milder weather and a patchwork of lowland fields and hedgerows from which they can hunt, using a perch from which they can take large invertebrates such as earthworms and large beetles and small mammals.

Pairs are sedentary, remaining on territories throughout the year with territorial calling in the autumn as young birds start to look for their own territories

After years of successful breeding, little owl numbers have fallen at a rate of about 25 per cent over the last ten years and there has been a similar downturn elsewhere in Europe.

There seems to be a fall in survival rates both during the breeding season and at other times of the year but more research is needed to discover the reasons why.

Hopefully, with the right steps being taken the future of this delightful little bird will be once again secured.

Recent sightings in the region have included a Black-winged pratincole seen among a lapwing flock just over the Nottinghamshire border at Finningley.

This wader is a rare vagrant to this country from the extreme south east of Europe and southern Russia.