Has anyone got a towel for an owl? Soggy tawny owl chick caught out by torrential downpour

Ten-inch-tall bird tried to fly the nest but was caught out in a rainstorm

Found by wildlife photographer Robert Fuller in Thixendale, Yorkshire

Mr Fuller, 41, has since rescued even more chicks who hatched nearby

This soggy tawny owl chick looks like he needs a fluffy towel.

The tiny bird got soaked when he tried to fly the nest during a rainstorm – but ended up on the ground and unable to get back up.

Luckily, he was found by wildlife photographer Robert Fuller, who put him in a box to dry out before returning him to the nest in Thixendale, North Yorkshire.

Soggy: The tiny bird got soaked trying to fly the nest during a rain storm but ended up on the ground, trapped

Mr Fuller set up a nesting box for the owls in a tree near his house - and since the chicks have hatched six weeks ago he has rescued them twice.

The 41-year-old said: 'Our local pair of tawny owls feed in my garden every night and I built them a nesting box in the trunk of an old elm tree around 70 yards from my house.

'About six weeks ago they hatched four chicks and have been raising them. But tawny owl chicks are adventurous little things and they often attempt to fly the nest before they’re ready.

'They end up falling to the ground but can normally climb back up tree trunks using their talons, wings and even beaks if they have to.

Confident: Mr Fuller said the chicks have a tendency to fly the nest before they are strong enough

Failed attempts: The chick tried to climb up using his claws and beak but he was left in a puddle

'But the problem comes when they get soaked in heavy rain.

'When they are young they are still very fluffy and downy, and their feathers just soak up the water stopping them from climbing back up the trees.

'They are then susceptible to predators so I have taken to picking up the chicks and letting them dry off before putting them back in their nest box.

'I have rescued them twice this week already and if it rains any more I expect I will have to do it again.

'The last time I scooped them up they looked like they’d just been dunked in a bucket full of water.'

Nesting: Robert Fuller put him up in a box to dry out - and has since rescued even more chicks

The tawny owl - Strix aluco in Latin - is widespread across England, Scotland and Wales but is not found in Ireland.

There are around 50,000 breeding pairs in the UK.