A BABY tawny owl ruffled the feathers of a family after it was found hiding behind their garden wall.

The owl, which had fallen from a nearby tree, appeared not to give two hoots about being placed in a hanging basket for safety until it was reunited with its mother.

Michelle Naylor, 34, and her husband Darren, 38 found the bird outside their home in Old Hall Square, Worsthorne.

Darren, a production manager for KP Moulding in Burnley, said: “We hear the owls at night but usually don’t see them during the day.

“My wife spotted it hiding behind the wall, we think it was probably hiding from the neighbourhood cats.

“She was really worried about it and rang me to ask what we should do. I told her to put it in a box and take it inside the house and then call the RSPCA.

“They said that we should put it somewhere safe up off the ground away from the cats so we put it in the hanging basket.

“It was a really windy night and after an hour or it jumped out so I decided to take the lining out of the hanging basket and place the owl on it in the tree.

“About an hour or so later the owl jumped from the tree and we saw it reunited with its mother, I think it must have heard its mother calling.

“We are relived that they have been reunited. We will be keeping our eyes out for it to check it is OK.”

A spokesman for the RSPB said that tawny owls can often be found on the ground near trees at this time of year.

She said: “What we would advise is that unless the bird is in danger or is injured to leave it alone as the mothers are usually watching them close by. At this time of year it is quite normal to find fledgling owls on the ground as they are learning to fly.”