Escaped eagle owl spotted again in Norwich's skies

A Eurasian eagle owl, one of the largest owls in the world, was spotted near the home of Norwich City yet again.

Lauren Simpson, who spotted the bird at 2am on Tuesday, said: "I've been hearing an owl for weeks and I didn't think anything of it, I figured it was just a regular owl.

"But last night I was in bed listening to music and it was so loud, it was unbelievable.

"I thought I might be able to see it flying around so I opened my curtains and it was right there on my balcony."

A Eurasian eagle owl has been spotted in the Unthank Road area of Norwich. (Image: Mike Marren)

Lauren, 30, who is a singer and works in hospitality added: "The sheer size of it threw me, it was huge. It was about a metre from me and facing away.

"When I took a picture it turned around and it had these bright orange eyes. When it saw me it flew off.

"It flew around the buildings near me and the football ground. It started calling out so I called back. It looked around all confused and we kept calling to each other.

"I just watched it for hours."

The eagle owl was last spotted on February 10 by the River Wensum next to Carrow Road

A Eurasian eagle owl has been spotted in the area of Carrow Road in Norwich. (Image: Alex Debecker)

Before that, it was seen on January 25 near Grosvenor Road off Unthank Road. It was spotted sitting on the roof of a house before flying off.

Similar sightings were also reported regularly in Ormesby St Margaret, near Great Yarmouth in early January.

It is likely the owl escaped from captivity but it is thought the bird will thrive in the wild if it finds enough food to eat.

But, despite the owl's proximity to the home of Norwich City, it is not known if the winged predator would feed on canaries.

The eagle owl is easily recognisable due to its orange eyes and feathery ear tufts.