South Canterbury man’s feathered visitor makes itself at home on couch

It’s a friendship that began with a bang and a crash at the cat flap, and now a little owl has become a regular visitor to Rory Foley’s home, even plonking itself down on the couch to watch television.

For the past three months, the Pleasant Point man has noticed the fledging in a tree outside his bedroom window, staring in at him, and has nicknamed the young bird Mr Hoot.

The owl has become a comforting sight to Foley, and he chats to it out the window whenever he sees it peeking in.

But even he was surprised when several days ago at 11pm he heard a crash and a bang at his cat flap, and on inspection discovered the owl was making its way inside.

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“It was anarchy at 11pm,’’ Foley said.

He was unsure when exactly it had started gaining access to his home, as he had been away for work.

However, on Sunday while Foley was watching Peep Show, again about 11pm, the owl strolled in through the cat flap in the home’s mudroom, came through the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the front room where it plonked itself down on the couch beside him, and began to watch television.

“He just stared at me and then climbed up on the couch,’’ Foley said.

He said the fledging was obviously looking for company, “and I must be good owl company’’.

The bird had followed him around the house, and Foley leaves the window open for it to come and go during the night.

The owl does not eat anything while it is in the house and the visits have become overnighters, as when Foley went downstairs the other morning, the owl was still inside, leaving about 8am.

His cat has remained unperturbed by the visits, he said.

“He rules the manor, so he just looked like he was thinking ‘I wish the peasants wouldn’t come inside’.’’

Foley described the owl’s look as “staring right into your soul’’, and while he had enjoyed the visits, he was not sure why the bird had chosen his home as a stop off.

In a quest to find out what to do about the regular feathered visitor, Foley contacted Ron Lindsay at the NZ Raptor Trust, based in Timaru.

The trust takes in birds which are sick or injured, with the intention of rehabilitating them back to full health.

Lindsay, a spokesperson for the trust, said Foley was working with them to find a solution.

“We’re thinking about putting a nesting box outside. Maybe the bird is looking for somewhere to shelter,’’ he said.

While he is yet to see the bird in the flesh, photos he had seen showed it was a little owl.

“They are common around here, but I have never heard of one coming into someone’s house.’’

According to the Department of Conservation website, the little owl is “unique’’ in that it has schedule 2 protection under the Wildlife Act despite being an introduced species.

The protection status prevents people keeping them as pets. They live only in the South Island, but would have ended up in the North Island too if they were not protected, the website says.

The little owl was initially introduced to New Zealand in 1906 from Germany.

Little owls are solitary and are most often seen perched in the open in the late afternoon. They mainly hunt at dawn and dusk, often feeding on the ground, where they walk and run freely (unlike morepork).