AS anyone who has watched British comedy film Hot Fuzz will know, police officers are sometimes alerted to incidents involving wildlife of the feathered variety.

This week it was the turn of Halesowen Police who found themselves involved in a job which turned out to be a real hoot.

Officers came to the rescue of a rare short-eared owl that had been injured and handed it over to bird of prey experts at The Falconry Centre at Hagley.

The injured short-eared owlThe injured short-eared owl (Image: West Midlands Police)

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday October 28 to highlight the incident, they said: “Halesowen NHT offered support this evening to this short-eared owl who was injured in the local area, support was also given from a local falconry centre to aid its recovery.

“We hope to see it released back into the wild shortly. #tweettwoo.”

Gem Atherton, a trustee at The Falconry Centre at Hagley, said the owl had spent the night at the vets and it would be brought back to the centre to recuperate.

The injured rare bird of prey had suffered an eye injury and also had a broken wing.

Following surgery to fix the wing, however, and a period of rehabilitation at the falconry centre, it has a good chance of recovery.

Gem told the News: "It will stay with us until it's able to be released into the wild.

"Unfortunately visitors won't be able to see it as we're not allowed to put wild birds on display."

The short-eared owl is on the Amber List of Birds of Conservation Concern, according to the British Trust for Ornithology, and Gem said in her 10 years at the falconry centre she has never seen one brought in - adding: "It's quite a rare find in this area."

The Falconry Centre, a registered charity with a focus on conservation, was established 41 years ago in 1983. Home to more than 80 birds of prey, it also takes in and cares for between 30 to 50 injured wild birds of prey a year. 

It's estimated the operation to fix the broken wing on this latest rescued owl has cost around £1,500. 

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the centre can do so via the charity's webpage thefalconrycentre.co.uk.

West Midlands Police have been contacted for comment about the rescue.