Tarred and feathered: Roadworks leave owl's beak glued shut

Motorists spotted the bird in the middle of a West Yorkshire road on Saturday after it was holding up traffic.

Police attended to the bird in Huddersfield, before taking it to nearby Meltham Wildlife Rescue.

Kath Heaney, from the rescue centre, said: “He was brought in appearing to have a bit of tar around his beak.

“Obviously he couldn’t eat or clean himself so was in quite a state.

“Amazingly, he didn’t have any other injuries - it looks like he had a lot of near misses from the passing vehicles.”

The owl was put on a ten-day course of antibiotics and will be released back into the wild when they are finished.

Police said: “Thanks to the facilities at Meltham Wildlife Rescue, the owl received the appropriate care and nourishment - and when back to full health will be released back to the correct area.”

Police posted on their Facebook page: “We never know what we may come across.... A call to deal with a traffic obstruction in Ainley Top lead to officers being alerted to a poorly Owl - found by passers by in the middle of the road.

“Following roadworks in the area, the Owl’s beak had become stuck shut with road tar.

“Thanks to the facilities at Meltham Wildlife Rescue, the Owl received the appropriate care and nourishment - and when back to full health will be released back to the correct area.”