Great job helping the guy out. Bare handing it out of there is a brave choice, those tslons are no joke. I would have gone with some work gloves.

Their look is always the same. Two big eyes burning a hole through you.

I feel dumb because I did not know that owls cannot move their eyes. They can only turn their heads. Thusly, the owl look. I learned this WAY too late in life. I did get to have an owl perch on my arm however at a wildlife center, so that helped.

"I could have gotten out any time I wanted, grubby human!"

That's my thought since it doesn't sound like it had smacked into the house before falling in and there was nothing else otherwise wrong with it.

Owl often venture into uncapped chimneys thinking they are great roosting spots, but they don't understand they don't bottom out like a tree cavity. It may have just overestimated the room it had to work with once inside that window well. Thankfully it was noticed!