An owl's had a lucky escape in Grimsby during Storm Eunice
the tree it was sitting in was blown over by high winds
Last updated 21st Feb 2022
A Tawny Owl's had a lucky escape in Grimsby after the conifer tree it was sitting in was blown over by Storm Eunice.
After expert advice the bird was taken home by a council staff member to recover.
They assumed it was Ok when it started flying round the living room.
Workers from North East Lincolnshire's environmental team were called to almost 20 incidents of fallen trees and large branches blocking roads and strewn across parkland and green spaces during Storm Eunice.
In St James Square they worked into Friday night clearing debris left and they returned to the Duke of York Gardens early on Saturday to assess the situation with a large section of Willow tree that had been felled.
After making it safe the night before, the area around it was taped off to be cleared completely on Monday morning. People are asked to ensure they avoid that immediate area.
Fortunately, there have been no reports of any injury to people locally.
However, one tawny owl had a close call when it was discovered in a huge fallen conifer tree just as workers were about to clear it from Abbey Road using chainsaws.
Lead arborist Phil Smith explained how the sheltering, and shocked owl, was spotted just in time by the team which swung into action to help the bird:
“It was clearly shocked and looked pretty distressed. We took it out and wrapped it in a towel, when we noticed it appeared to have injured its wing,” said Phil.
Placing the owl carefully in a box, Phil took it home – fearing the worst as its eyes were shut, it was breathing very deeply and just lying still.
Taking advice from the Cleethorpes Wildlife Trust, Phil left the bird in the care of his wife as he went back to work. He returned later to find it had recovered and was flying around the family living room!
“I was so pleased to see it, and to be honest was almost in tears – it seemed perfectly fine,” added Phil.
After a visit to the Cleethorpes Wildlife Trust for a health check the owl was taken back to the area it was found for release.
Praising the teams for their work during the bad weather the council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Stewart Swinburn, said:
“The wind speeds and strength of the two storms but particularly Eunice, is something we do not witness often and it’s testament to the dedication of our teams that they work, day and night, to ensure our borough is kept as safe as possible.”