Family Looks At Their Fireplace And Notices A Little Owl 'Waving' To Them

“He had his feet up against the grille like he was waving and asking for help."

When a family in England started hearing strange noises coming from their fireplace, they had no idea what was causing them. They couldn’t see anything, so they didn’t think any more of it — until they looked over to their fireplace and were shocked to see an owl trapped inside. 

“The family had been hearing noises from the chimney and fireplace for a few days but had no idea there was a bird trapped inside until he fell all the way to the bottom,” Lauren Bailey, an inspector with the RSPCA, said in a press release. 

The family felt terrible that they hadn’t known the poor owl was trapped in there, and quickly contacted the RSPCA to come and rescue him. He looked sick and the worried family wanted to get him help as quickly as possible.

owl stuck in fireplace
RSPCA

Bailey arrived at the family’s home, ready to help the trapped owl, and he seemed happy to see her. 

“He had his feet up against the grille like he was waving and asking for help,” Bailey said. 

Bailey put on gloves and very carefully removed the grille from the fireplace, and was able to safely remove the owl and transfer him to a nearby wildlife hospital.

owl stuck in fireplace
RSPCA

“He was very thin and covered in soot so he’d obviously been stuck for some time,” Bailey said.

The owl is now all settled into the wildlife hospital and recovering nicely so far, and everyone is so grateful that he was found when he was. As soon as he’s completely healthy again, he’ll be released back into the wild, and will hopefully remember to steer clear of chimneys from now on.

If you’d like to help other animals in need, you can donate to the RSPCA