Tiny Stowaway Owl Found In The Rockefeller Christmas Tree [Video]

• A little owl was found in the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York. 
• No one is sure how it got there but Helen Kalish, director and founder of Ravensbeard Wildlife Center, speculates it got trapped in the tree when it was cut down and got transported with it 170 miles away.  
• The owl is now in the care of the wildlife center and is recovering his health. 

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An adorable stowaway owl was found in New York City’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree — that is 170 miles away from where he lives in up north. He has been rescued and is now recovering at the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center. 

On Tuesday, the Ravensbeard posted on Facebook the story of the tiny nocturnal bird that a Rockefeller Center crew spotted in the branches of the 75-foot Christmas tree. 

“We’ve been in existence for 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” the center’s director and founder, Helen Kalish, NBC affiliate, WNBC. “The wife of the person that found the owl was calling around to try and get help for this little guy. He saw these little eyes looking at him and reached in and grabbed it. He didn’t fly away so he wasn’t sure if it was injured.”

Helen made an appointment with the vet to check on the owl, but so far the little guy seemed fine, he still eats and still drinks.  

How the bird got there, nobody was really sure. Helen could only speculate that ge got trapped in the tree when it was cut down in Oneonta, and got transported with it to New York which is about 170 miles away in distance. 

“It was there for I think what was a three-day journey to New York City and wasn’t found until they released the branches,” Helen said.

Thankfully, owls are naturally resilient birds. But still, the little guy must’ve been a bit shocked waking up in New York with so many people. After all, “they’re very quiet and shy little creatures and are extremely nocturnal and very rarely seen,” she added. 

As for the Rockefeller Center, they are sure to have checked the branches of the tree before it got transported but as you know, “birds sometimes can find their way into it on the journey,” a spokesperson said. 

Helen finds this once-in-a-lifetime story extremely sweet and worthy of sharing.

Source: TODAY