Gandalf, the agoraphobic owl, is given his own brick house

Gandalf the great grey owl peers out of a window at Knowsley Safari Park 

Photo: Mark Bridger / Rex Features

An owl who is afraid of flying outside in big open spaces has been given his own red brick house.

Gandalf the Great Grey Owl gets scared flying out in the open so his owners have built his aviary inside a brick shed.

He now spends his days watching the world go by out of his window.

"He is a bit of a wuss as he doesn't like flying in big open spaces," said owner Janet Southard, who runs the Wild Arena photography company, based inside Knowsley Safari Park near Liverpool.

"When we moved here we put him in the shed temporarily while we built his aviary outside.

"But he didn't want to move so now he has an aviary inside the lovely red brick shed.

"He loves sitting at the window and watching the other birds."

But amateur photographer Mark Bridger, 44, from Kent, had quite a fright when he saw the big round face at the window.

"I looked around and saw this face at the window, then suddenly realised it was an owl. It gave me quite a shock.

"You don't normally expect to see an owl in a house. He looked quite ghostly."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9647925/Gandalf-the-agoraphobic-owl-is-given-his-own-brick-house.html#