AN ANIMAL lover known as ‘the bird man’ helped nurse a tawny owl back to health after the creature flew into a car.

Retired bus driver Pat Wynne, 63, of Newtown, was rung by a distraught motorist after the owl flew into his vehicle late at night on a country road near Tilston.

The driver, known only as ‘Robbie’, got hold of Pat’s phone number through Lower Moss Wood Educational Nature Reserve at Knutsford with which Pat has had a long association.

Pat, who has rescued many lost and injured animals over the years, collected the owl and transported the bird home in a special carrier in his vehicle.

He said: “I put her in a quiet room in the warm. I tried her with food but she wasn’t interested. Her wing was dragging a bit and the next morning I fully expected to find her dead but to my relief she wasn’t. That day she stood up and she wasn’t limping and she started clicking at me, warning me to stay away, which was a good sign.”

Then Pat, also known as ‘Dr Dolittle’, transported the ‘beautiful creature’ to Lower Moss Wood and the specialist care of warden Ray Jackson MBE where she stayed for about 10 days. The owl began eating again and a test flight in a long cage revealed she was fully recovered and ready to return to the wild.

Pat took the owl back to the exact spot where she had been hit by the car to release her from his hands in front of motorist Robbie whose vehicle the owl had hit.

Pat, who was wearing heavy duty gloves at the time, recalled the emotional moment: “She started fighting. I held her in my hands until she had calmed down, then I gently opened my hands and for about two seconds she stayed there before flying off.

“She landed in a tree, looked back at me and Robbie, as if to say ‘thanks very much’, and flew off into the woods. I just hope she’s all right.”