AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s not unusual to see golfers fishing for golf balls in the water at the Lost Creek Country Club in west Austin. But fishing for an owl?

Craig Loving is the golf course superintendent at the club. Earlier this week, he put on his waders and went on a wildlife mission after one of the club’s employees noticed a fishing line wrapped around a Great Horned Owl. The owl was stuck near the first tee box.

With a pair of pliers, Loving went to work on freeing the owl. “He kept slamming his beak down… but I kind of talked to it a little bit,” said Loving. “So we got a shovel and took the shovel handle and used it as a perch, then I walked him out of there.”

After a successful transport to land, the owl took off from the country club.