Sleepy owl found resting among items on a New York antique store shelf

"Shoppers in upstate New York earlier this month turned up a rare find while perusing a local antique store this month: tucked next to a cookie jar made in the shape of a chicken was a live owl resting peacefully on a shelf."

"Environmental conservation police officers arrived to find a brown-and-white owl perched on a shelf with its eyes firmly shut. The department said officers gently cradled the sleeping owl to remove it from the store, and then released it into a wooded area, where it flew into a nearby tree."

"The bird, an eastern screech owl, is nocturnal and typically nests in tree cavities. It is not immediately clear how it got inside the store."

Shoppers at The Market Place antique store in East Durham, New York discovered a live eastern screech owl resting on a shelf among merchandise on February 21. Customers initially mistook the bird for a realistic decoration before alerting store staff. Environmental conservation police officers responded and gently removed the sleeping owl from the shelf. The bird was then released into a nearby wooded area, where it flew into a tree. Eastern screech owls are nocturnal birds that typically nest in tree cavities. The exact circumstances of how the owl entered the store remain unclear.

Read at ABC7 New York