Two Owls Rescued From Chimney

Two owls who became trapped in a chimney stack were rescued and released, with the female going on to successfully lay her first egg a week later. Photographer Laurel Strohmeyer has been closely monitoring the Grey Horned owls that have taken to nesting nearby her home in Scottsdale, Arizona. She set up a Nest camera to track their comings and goings but was shocked one day when she watched the footage to notice the female, who she named Bella, was missing. Footage shows her mate return with food but looking around baffled as Bella is no longer present. Having got to know their movements, Laurel instantly become concerned and knew something was up. The next morning a neighbor reported that two owls were trapped in their chimney. And so began a rescue mission with the help of a local chimney sweep. Using first a chimney brush lowered into the chimney stack, Bella hopped on and they were able to gently lift her out, before she flew off back to the nest. But the second younger male refused to play ball – staying resolutely stuck to the bottom of the chimney. A quick-thinking chimney sweep then used a larger roll of wire mesh, which obliging the younger owl stepped onto allowing them to lift him to safety, too.