Youngsters went crackers for two owls that visited the Family Library in Westmoreland Road in Douglas.

Bugg, who is a spectacled owl and Pepsi, a barn owl, were brought to the library by Tina Jauncey, duty manager at the Curraghs Wildlife Park.

The family library theme for the school Easter break was animal crackers, which involved having several animal visits and also themed crafts.

Tina and park volunteer Martin Newman brought the owls to the library last week, where they were happy to pose for photos with the children.

She said: ’We had a lovely visit with our owls from the park. We try to fit in at least one visit once a year to the library.

’It is a bit of a reciprocal agreement as they often come to the park for storytelling so we help each other out.

’It’s lovely to see the children’s faces when they are able to get close to such beautiful creatures.

’It helps us promote the park and what we are trying to achieve by connecting everyone to nature.’

Tina added: ’We took Bugg, a five-year-old spectacled owl and Pepsi a 13-year-old barn owl.

’Bugg was hatched at the park and was hand-reared, which is why he is totally chilled in situations like that at the library.

’We have his parents here at the park, and they are now successfully rearing their own chicks.

’Pepsi came to us four years ago. He used to travel all over the UK as part of a display team but came to the island to semi-retire. He loves his outings and gets excited when he sees his travelling box appear.’