This Tiny Owl Was Rescued From NYC's Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and Yes, We're Emotional
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived in New York City on Saturday, November 14.
After two days tied up in transport, it was untied and a precious owl was found among the branches.
Not even a pandemic can keep the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree from standing tall in New York City.
The iconic tree—a 75-foot Norway Spruce hailing from Oneonta, New York—arrived in the city on Saturday, November 14, after two days in transit strapped to the back of an 18-wheeler.
While memes about the tree’s debut have been circulating since Rockefeller Center announced its arrival—thanks to its seemingly-scarce silhouette—on Wednesday, November 18, a new discovery about the spruce was made.
When the tree was erected in the middle of Rockefeller Center, one of the workers who helped transport and secure the tree found what looked like a baby owl within its branches. He promptly put his new feathered friend—aptly nicknamed “Rockefeller”—in a box and called the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Saugerties, NY. When the center confirmed that they could help, the man then drove hours to meet them and make the drop.
While the man had believed the owl to be a bewildered baby lost within the massive tree’s branches, Ellen, the Ravensbeard employee who met with him, realized it was actually older than they originally thought.
"Once secured, I peeked in the box and saw this little face looking up at me,” she shared in a Facebook post for the center. “He was a little Saw-whet owl, the smallest owls we have in the Northeast. All baby owls are born in the spring so the idea that there was a baby owl in November didn’t make sense."
Once the little owl made its safe return, Ellen assured readers that it was given all the water and mice it could consume, as it hadn’t eaten in a few days.
"So far so good, his eyes are bright and seems relatively in good condition with all he’s been through,” she exclaimed. “Once he checks in with the vet and gets a clean bill of health, he’ll be released to continue on his wild and wonderful journey.”
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