From Owl Moon Raptor Center

On Thursday, February 6, Owl Moon received a call regarding a female barred owl trapped in an unused, walled off chimney. The homeowners could hear the trapped owl hooting to her mate through the walls. Volunteer Billy Rios responded to the call. Billy tried to reach the chimney from the roof using an extension ladder, but an additional ladder would have been needed to get from the roof to the top of the chimney. After contacting a few chimney/wildlife removal professionals to no avail, the homeowners agreed to cut a 2’x2’ opening in the wall through which to enter the sealed chimney.

Billy had to lie down squeezing into the newly-cut wall opening up to his waist to open the chimney damper. From this awkward position, he was able to see the trapped owl just out of reach. The area was so cramped that Billy had to devise a way to bring the owl down using a retractable pole in the homeowner’s garage. With this improvised tool, the owl was secured and brought down to the level of the damper. Once there, Billy could reach up feeling his way past the damper contorting himself just far enough to get his hands on the poor bird and finally free her from the chimney.

The homeowners were beyond relieved when Billy emerged with the safely extracted owl. Back at Owl Moon, the female barred owl was assessed and miraculously found to be uninjured, without soiled feathers, and in good body condition. Other than being dehydrated from her confinement in the chimney, this owl was incredibly fortunate. After a short stay at Owl Moon to receive fluid treatments and meals, she was released back home to her mate on SuperbOwl Sunday. We are deeply grateful to Billy for his bold retrieval efforts and the homeowners for being our partners in this challenging rescue!