Sleepy owl found taking a snooze on shelf in upstate New York antique store

Well, owl be damned! Shoppers discovered a live owl snoozing between trinkets for sale while perusing the shelves of an upstate New York antique store last month.Customers at The Market Place in the hamlet of East Durham happened upon the “extremely lifelike” owl tucked next to a chicken-shaped cookie jar on Feb.21 and alerted store staff, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.Environmental conservation police officers arrived and found the slumbering brown-and-white eastern screech owl perched on the shelf, the department said.

Officers cradled the sleeping bird out of the store and released it into a wooded area — where it eventually flew into a nearby tree, authorities added.Eastern screech owls are nocturnal and typically nest in tree cavities.

It is not immediately clear how the feathered friend ended up in the store.With Post wires...