This owl found itself grounded after taking a tumble into a tempting food source — a barrel of syrup.
It managed to escape and was rescued by a passer-by who found the bird covered beak to talon in the sticky substance, used by farmers to sweeten animal feed.
The passer-by took the bird to a nearby animal hospital, where staff began the messy task of cleaning up what they believed was a brown owl. It was only when the syrup had been removed that they realised it was a white barn owl.
Veterinary nurse Francesca Campanaro said: “He was in a complete mess. He must have struggled to get out after falling in, that’s what we believe. It’s still a bit of a mystery.
“It’s an unusual thing to happen and he did well to get out because it would have been very difficult to move.
"Barn owls can be very feisty so we were a bit wary but after we had cleaned him up and given him some food he perked up.”
While Ms Campanaro and the vet were caring for the bird, nicknamed “daddy owl”, a local man called the hospital, Tiggywinkles in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, to say an owl he had set up a box for had gone missing.
Ms Campanaro said: “We knew immediately it would be ‘daddy owl’ so we gave him the good news that he was OK.”
After 24 hours of treatment and observation, staff released the owl back into the wild last month. Ms Campanaro said: “He headed straight back to the box.
"We know he arrived safely because the man who set it up had put a small camera inside which recorded the owl returning. It was a happy ending and hopefully the owl won’t make the same mistake twice and stick his beak in where it is dangerous.”
Tiggywinkles, the world’s leading wildlife hospital, looks after more than 10,000 animals each year.
