Just stopped for a quick snack at Sea-Tac Airport...

(Photo: Sea-Tac International Airport Facebook page)



SEA-TAC INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- Sea-Tac tweeted this photo of an adult barn owl that it said was caught Wednesday morning in one of its raptor traps meant to keep birds from being sucked into jet engines during takeoffs and landings.

"Adult barn owl caught this morning in one of our goshawk traps. She is on her way up north to wildlife areas!" the tweet said.

Sea-Tac is believed to be the only airport in the country to use the Swedish Goshawk Trap (seen in the background of the photo), which are considered more humane than other traps.

The traps use live pigeons as bait. When a raptor lands on a pigeon in the open trap, the sides of the trap snap up, capturing the raptor. An email and text message then goes to trap monitors to notify them a bird has been trapped.

The Port of Seattle, which operators the airport, has caught hundreds of raptors -- mostly red-tailed hawks -- over the past decade.

The trapped hawks -- and probably this owl -- are then taken to Skagit County to be released in the woods.