Police rescue injured owl from side of LIE

Suffolk County police officers rescued an injured owl from the side of the Long Island Expressway Wednesday morning in Medford.

Emergency Service Officers Fred Sales and Carl Glaser responded at about 8:25 a.m. after a 911 caller reported the owl off the westbound LIE, near Exit 65, police said in a news release.

A department spokeswoman said police think the owl could have been struck by a motor vehicle.

It was taken by state Department of Environmental Conservation personnel to Stony Brook University for evaluation.

After evaluation the owl will be sent to a rehabilitation facility, police said.

Sales and Glaser said the owl showed signs of trauma and that its eyes were dilated.

The officers placed a raincoat over the bird, to settle it down, and then were able to grab it until state conservation personnel arrived by holding it just above the talons, the news release said.