Yesterday evening, got a call about an owl that was "stuck" in a basement parking garage of a hotel. He had been down there for a couple days. He wasn't necessarily stuck, but maybe just lost his way or didn't want to leave.
The hotel told me that several other companies had come out and tried to get it unsuccessfully. I asked them to send me a picture of the owl, so I could get a feel for the garage and what might be needed. I got the picture of the Barred owl and told them my price. I made a trip to get a couple supplies and headed to the hotel. I picked up a couple hundred feet of poly because I figured if the owl was calm enough I could tape the poly from the ceiling to the floor to trap it in a smaller area where I could catch it.
Upon my arrival the owl let me get within about ten feet of it before it flew. The previous company had used a rake with a jacket to try and catch it, so I'm sure that is part of why it was so skittish. After the first encounter the owl wouldn't let me get within 50' of it before it flew. It would continuously fly in a circle and would land in the same three or four spots every time. It would fly right by the exit each time it circled. I had a net, but couldn't get close enough for it. Before attempting to trap it into a smaller area with the poly, I grabbed my snake tongs.
When the owl would land in the corner I would rush him and he would fly by me. I narrowly missed him three or four times with the snake tongs. Then, as I approached him from about 100' he took flight back to the corner behind me. It was coming right at me! I jumped and reached with the tongs and to my amazement caught him perfectly by the leg! I carried him to a cage and placed him inside of it. Then I sat down to catch my breath

I may be young, but it's been awhile since I've sprinted around that long. The hotel was very happy, as was I. I wish I had the footage from the parking garage cameras as I'm sure it was a sight to see.
I took him down the street and let him go. He flew right up into a tree and I gave him a big thumbs up!
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