Animal Protection Police officers in Fairfax County, Virginia, helped a rare owl get out of a tough spot last month.

The Fairfax County Police Department posted about the rescue on its Facebook page Tuesday. APP officers were called to the Oakton area Nov. 17 for a report of an owl that had flown into a home under construction.

The owl was a Northern Saw-whet, a rarely seen owl species and one of the smallest in North America — about the size of a robin. They live in dense thickets and migrate through the area every spring and fall to their nesting grounds in the forest regions of the northern United States and Canada.

Two APP officers checked the owl for injuries. When they determined the little guy was in good shape, they let him go on his merry way to greener forests.