Rescued owl was 'too fat to fly', Suffolk sanctuary says Published duration 29 January

image copyright Suffolk Owl Sanctuary image caption The owl was a third heavier than it should have been

An owl rescued from a ditch and thought to be injured was in fact just too fat to fly, a bird rescue centre has said.

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary said the "soggy" bird was brought in by a landowner.

When staff examined the little owl (Athene noctua), they found it to be "simply extremely obese" and "unable to fly effectively" as a result.

The owl was put on a "strict diet" to slim down from its 245g to a more "natural weight" and has been released back to the wild, the sanctuary said.

The sanctuary, based in Stonham Aspal, said when the bird was weighed, it was roughly a third heavier than they would expect a large healthy female little owl to be.

image copyright Suffolk Owl Sanctuary image caption The owl was put on a "strict diet" to lose 20-30g

The sanctuary said it was "extremely unusual for wild birds to get into this condition naturally".

Head falconer Rufus Samkin said: "Where she was found is very productive land, and it's been a mild winter and there's a lot of food around - voles, mice.

"We think she's just done incredibly well for herself and overindulged."

He said the owl lost between 20g and 30g over a couple of weeks while staff monitored its food intake.