From a distance, it looks like a typical woodlot. Surrounded on three sides by farm fields, it’s found on the northern edge of Chatham.

But the collection of vehicles parked at Mid-Wood Oxley Park signals people are attracted to something about the location that doesn’t immediately meet the eye.

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Walk along the path in the park and you’ll soon discover the Rotary eco-trail in the O’Neill nature preserve, long known to locals as Paxton’s bush.

Many people come just to enjoy a stroll through the 1.4-km, crushed stone trail that goes around the 8.5-hectare woodlot.

But it’s what’s living in the woodlot – including woodpeckers, ducks, warblers other song birds – that truly pulls people in. Easily the most popular draw are the great horned owls. Many regular visitors look

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