As a service plumber, Trevor Hayes spends his days out and about, visiting clients. On one such recent workday, Hayes was arriving at a customer’s home when he noticed a feathery brown clump hugged up against a garage door two houses down.

Getting a better look, Hayes soon locked eyes with a worried-looking animal.

“It was just staring at me and didn’t look like it was doing good,” Hayes told The Dodo.

It didn’t take long for the plumber to realize what was going on.

“I knew it was an owl right away,” Hayes said. “I’m pretty familiar with the wildlife around here, but it was odd seeing the owl in broad daylight, especially in front of someone’s garage on the ground.”

Hayes continued to his job, hopeful that the owl was just lost or confused. Afterwards, he went back to check on the bird and was heartbroken to realize the wayward animal was still there.

“I figured I should probably do something, so I knocked on the homeowner’s door but didn’t receive an answer,” Hayes said.

In need of an expert, Hayes called a local game warden, then he called RAPTOR Inc., a bird rehabilitation center nearby. Staff at RAPTOR Inc. gave Hayes instructions on how to safely capture the bird. Later that day, Hayes returned with a box, thick gloves and a drop cloth. Soon, the sickly bird was safe with Hayes, on his way to RAPTOR Inc. for further assessment.

These days, the owl is thriving in care, receiving all the help he needs to get better.

“They said the owl is doing great,” Hayes said.

According to Hayes, the bird was recently moved into a larger enclosure at the rescue and is expected to be released back to the wild in the coming days.

Soon enough, this owl will be back in the night skies where he belongs, flying free without a care.