Four baby owls are spotted in a residential area in Dongcheng District, Dongguan City, March 31, 2021.

On the morning of March 31, in a residential compound of Dongcheng District, which is located at the foot of Dongguan's Huangqi Mountain, a gardener found four baby owls lying in the grass while cleaning the lawn. Taking into account that the owl is a nationally protected species, he immediately informed the property management office in the neighbourhood.

Considering there are many residents, the property management staff immediately encircled the scene for safety, reported the finding to the forest police and sent people on duty throughout the night.

According to Li Jie, the property management office manager, there was a strong wind in the past few days, and the baby owls were probably blown down from the trees since they were too weak.

In the early morning of April 1, the management staff found an adult owl flying around the treetop, presuming that it should be the baby owls' parent. The forestry department also sent a team to deal with it. After discussion, the departments decided to let them to settle here.

"Its scientific name is the collared owl, and it is characterized by two small horns on the head," Ziwei, secretary-general of the Dongguan Bird Watching Association, introduced.

The collared owls hide among the dense branches and leaves on the trees during the day and only start moving and singing at night. Although the newly-born baby birds are not afraid of people, the parent birds may move the young birds if there are too many onlookers. Therefore, people should keep a certain distance while watching in case they might be affected.