Claire Rome was a dedicated conservationist and an artist with a reputation for fine glass engravings, wood carvings, paintings and drawings. She lived next to a farm near Sturminster Newton, Dorset. She is best known for her book 'An Owl Came to Stay', illustrated by her own drawings. The book tells of how she nurtured a tiny orphaned owlet back to the wild and created a foster home for orphaned and injured owls. Remarkably, she lived with the owls, observing and sharing the experiences of these animals which to most people are mysterious, awesome and barely seen. She writes: 'There is a lot that scientific study and the textbooks have left out … things that only very close observation and sympathy with the living bird can reveal'.
