Overview
- Store employees at The Market Place in East Durham discovered the Eastern screech-owl on a shelf on Feb. 21 and called the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
- DEC Officer Darren Milliron gently removed the sleeping bird and released it into nearby woods, where it flew into a tree.
- Authorities said it remains unknown how the wild owl entered the building.
- The DEC detailed the incident in a March 9 news release that prompted broader media coverage.
- According to the Smithsonian, Eastern screech-owls are native to North America and are commonly gray, reddish-brown, or brown with yellow eyes.