When a family in Arlington, Virginia, entered their living room on Wednesday, the star on top of their Christmas tree was missing. Well, not so much missing, but shoved to the side to make room for someone new.
Lit from below by the glow of string lights, a wild barred owl perched on the top of the tree. He’d decided to “play Santa” and fly down the chimney, and now he surveyed his unusual surroundings with large, soulful eyes.
The two young girls who discovered the wild visitor were delighted, while their dad quickly dialed the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) for assistance. When responding officer Sgt. Spencer Murray arrived around 8 p.m., the owl was still comfortably resting on his festive perch. After the officer snapped a few photos, the owl took off.
“The bird flew around a little bit,” Chelsea Jones, senior communication specialist at AWLA, told The Dodo. “Usually, when that happens, we let them tire themselves out a little bit. So he was going back and forth between the kitchen and the tree, and once he was a little bit tired, Spencer was able to use a net to safely catch him.”
While barred owls are plentiful in the area, calls to the AWLA usually come from concerned citizens alerting the rescue to an injured owl outside who’s not flying. They’d never received a call like this before.
Sgt. Murray checked the owl for injuries, avoiding the sharp talons and beak, and the little girls looked on, fascinated. “He did a once-over, and the owl was super healthy,” Jones said. “He then released him outside, and the owl flew off into the night.”
Luckily, neither the family nor owl were hurt in the ordeal, and the star is now back at the top of the tree.
Jones urges those with chimneys to ensure they either cap them or close the flue in the winter when animals are looking for somewhere warm and dark to rest.
“As cute and lovely as this story is, we don’t want owls inside people’s houses if they don’t have to be because it’s very stressful for them,” Jones said.
But for one night, both the family and Sgt. Murray enjoyed what seemed to be a little bit of Christmas magic and now have a special story they’ll surely tell for many holiday seasons to come.
As Sgt. Murray said: “Hands down, this is one of my favorite wildlife calls I’ve ever responded to.”
