This owl hid in a family’s Christmas tree for four days before being discovered

A Lexington, Kentucky family got a little more than they paid for when they brought home their Christmas tree this year. Nestled in its branches was an Eastern screech owl — who’d been stowed away in the boughs for four days before being discovered.

Michele White told the Associated Press that her family brings home a Christmas tree every year and at first they didn’t notice anything unusual.

“I have three dogs,” White said. “We use this room nonstop: watch TV; the kitchen’s right here; no indication.”

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It wasn’t until Bobby Hayes, owner of Magic Carpet Cleaning, was at the family’s house four days after they brought home their tree. Hayes noticed the tree was swaying a bit and then discovered the owl sitting on a lower limb of the tree, he told AP.

“It crawled up into the tree further,” Hayes told AP. “It took me several minutes to even find it.”

This isn’t the first time a Christmas tree has contained a secret stowaway. In 2019, a family in Georgia discovered an owl in their tree that they believe had been there for a week. And in 2020, a worker transporting the famous and iconic Rockefeller Christmas tree discovered a tiny owl hiding in the big tree’s branches. The owl hitched a ride 170 miles from Oneonta, New York all the way to the Big Apple!

Fortunately, these stories end with the birds being released safely back into the wild where they belong, and the Kentucky owl is no different.

Hayes was able to safely capture the bird and release it into the White’s backyard, reported IFL Science.

“Everybody’s going to be able to have a merry Christmas now,” Hayes told AP.

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