‘I’m in Eagle Point and, um, this might be a silly request but, there’s … an owl … stuck on the side of this barn’; fly, be free! 

A nocturnal bird known for silent flight found itself in a less than graceful and not so silent situation while dangling from the side of an old barn along Barton Road in Eagle Point on Monday morning.

Local fire, police and emergency dispatch rallied to help the stranded barn owl, freeing it within minutes of a 911 call to Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon.

ECSO officials said a non-emergency call was made by a passerby at 6:18 a.m.

“I’m in Eagle Point and, um, this might be a silly request but, there’s … an owl … stuck on the side of this barn, and I don’t have time to try and find, like, a nearby raptor center,” the caller told dispatch.

“Is that something that the police department can help me to find somebody to come help this owl?”

Dispatch center officials initially contacted Oregon State Police to see if a game trooper was on duty. Within minutes, the original 911 caller had reached out separately to Eagle Point Police, which notified dispatchers that a ladder truck would be needed to reach the bird.

Fire District 3, known for previous rescues of wayward sheep and other creatures, sent Engine Company 23, which arrived within 11 minutes of the original 911 call.

Firefighters guided a ladder to the same height as the bird, prying the board back enough for the owl’s talons to get free.

Seen in a video posted to social media, the owl was dangling from the peak of the barn, visibly unimpressed with his misfortune. The video captures the moment in which firefighters from District 3, which cannot be seen from inside, clearly released the bird’s talons from the side of the barn.

ECSO officials said the call was cleared by 6:46 a.m. but it was unclear how long the owl had been stuck to the side of the barn.

Fire District 3 Chief Mike Hussey said the district tries to only post positive stories and happy endings, rather than use social media to put trauma on display.

“We like to keep it light,” Hussey said following the owl rescue.

A video of the owl being released to freedom is posted to the Fire District 3 Facebook page.

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.