The great horned owl caught in a kite string in a tree earlier this week wore its typical proud expression – but the bird was in trouble, the Grand Forks Herald reported.

Grand Forks cross-country skiers near the Red River on Wednesday first saw the raptor, dangling from a string wrapped around the tip of one wing 20 feet above the ground.

The skiers called 911. Police and firefighters showed up, who called in birding experts. They worked with poles and a net and eventually got the bird to the ground, the newspaper reported.

The owl didn't seem to want to fly, and likely had a strained wing, bird expert Tim Driscoll said.

The bird on Friday was being taken to the raptor center on the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus for care, the Herald said in a follow-up story today.