UNWELCOME house guests may be synonymous with Christmas and the school holidays, but one Wagga family has been entertaining some unusual, yet very welcome, visitors of the feathered kind.Sue Robertson first noticed a family of five Southern Boobook owls nestled high in a tree outside her Central Wagga home about three weeks ago and since then has been fascinated by their daily comings and goings.She said the little family seemed content in their chosen home, despite its location in the middle of a busy residential area."This is the first time I've seen owls in the yard," she said."You do hear them hooting but if you sneak out during the day to have a look at them they're usually asleep."We don't spend all day annoying them though and we haven't told too many people where they are, we don't want anyone to hurt them."While most of their daylight hours are spent snoozing, Mrs Robertson said one of the juvenile owls spent an entire day cooling off in a bird bath positioned in her front yard when the mercury hit 40 degrees last month.Although owls are a relatively regular sight in the region, Riverina WIRES chairman Andrew Edwards said it was less common for them to set up home in the middle of a city."Mostly the reason there's not so many around any more is because there's just not the habitat," he said."Owls are a bit fussy about where they live and there aren't that many trees around now with hollows in them, they also have to compete for them with other animals like possums."Mr Edwards said that each year Riverina WIRES rescued about 30 owls, most of which had been struck by cars.He said the owl family consisted of at least one adult with the juveniles quite advanced in development.