A wide-eyed creature recently decided to give a family in Arlington, Virginia, a surprise Christmas visit.
The family was in shock when they realized a Barred Owl had come down their chimney like Santa Claus and made itself at home, WUSA 9 reported on Friday.
The Burgoyne family recorded the owl flying around inside their home before it decided to perch on top of their Christmas tree.
Sgt. Murray with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington arrived at the scene to help capture the bird and eventually released it back into its own habitat.
“Twas the week before Christmas, and perched on the tree was an unexpected visitor as majestic as can be!” the animal welfare group wrote in a social media post on Thursday that featured pictures of the owl inside the house:
Video footage shows children in the home giggling when the officer tried to capture the owl as it flew over to the Christmas tree.
“He’s like, ‘This is the perfect spot!'” a man behind the camera said. The rest of the clip shows Murray releasing the owl in what appears to be the family’s back yard. When he opens the net, the owl quickly gets up and flies off into the night:
According to the Audubon website, the Barred Owl is mostly active during nighttime hours but does call and hunt during daylight.
“Only a little smaller than the Great Horned Owl, the Barred Owl is markedly less aggressive, and competition with its tough cousin may keep the Barred out of more open woods,” the site read, noting it is “A large, round-headed owl with dark eyes, no ‘ear’ tufts. Marked with horizontal bars on chest, vertical stripes on belly.”
Murray told NBC 4 Washington it was the second owl he had rescued in the four years of his career.
“It was one of my favorite calls that I’ve ever responded to,” he said:
“It’s just a picture perfect moment of the owl looking at us all while on top of the Christmas tree,” Murray added.