The Bramblemoor Birdwatching Society has released a small number of trained owls into woods above the village, following what its committee describes as a season of disappointing cooperation from the birds already living there.

The society, which films its outings for a following it has built over four years, had previously relied on owls occurring naturally. Members waited in hides through evenings that the committee now describes in its minutes as "quiet, and therefore unusable".

At an emergency meeting last month, the society approved the purchase and training of owls from a handler in the next county. The birds were taught to appear at a set hour, to land on a favoured branch, and to turn their heads slowly when a lens is raised. A recording of the society's chairperson, Mrs Doreen Fallowfield, is played from a bush to bring them in.

"We are not replacing owl-watching," said society press officer Mr Keith Upwood. "We are improving it. A wild owl appears when it wants to, which is no way to run anything."

The response

The society's posts since the release have shown owls arriving on cue, gazing into the camera and departing as the light becomes difficult. Followers have responded warmly. One commented that the owls seemed more present than owls usually do.

Some residents have raised concerns. Mrs Patricia Nomm, whose garden borders the release wood, said an owl had landed on her washing line three evenings in a row, turned to face her kitchen window and waited. She said she had not been filming and did not intend to start.

"There is something in its face that expects the video to begin," she said.

The local wildlife trust, the Marshlow Nature Partnership, has asked the society to confirm the owls were bred rather than taken from the wild, and to explain why one of them now waits beside the car park before dusk. The society has replied that the car park is where the best light is.

What happens next

The committee has scheduled a second release for the spring, to include a kingfisher that flies along a measured stretch of stream, and a heron described in the minutes as "very dependable, does the standing thing for as long as required".

A wild tawny owl in the same wood continues to hunt unseen, at hours of its own choosing. It has no following. Members say they have not ruled it out if it can be talked round.