Two baby owls have been named Axl and Slash after being found under Glastonbury stage

A couple of baby owls endured “almost two full days of loud music” at Glastonbury after nesting underneath the iconic Pyramid Stage.

The first of the two chicks was found under the stage left steps during Guns N’ Roses’ headline set on the Saturday night of the event, while the second was discovered in the same area the next day. Having since been taken to Somerset’s Secret World Wildlife Rescue, both were appropriately named Axl and Slash after the frontman and guitarist respectively.

Secret World fundraising manager David Plant said that the disturbance was “possibly the most unusual case” of the year, and that it “just goes to show the importance of checking your surrounding for wildlife before any activity”.

Pondering how Axl and Slash – the birds – made it to Glasto, he explained, “The Pyramid Stage frame is left in place all year when Worthy Farm goes back to being a dairy farm. Clearly a pair of little owls thought it would be a great place to make a nest… It looks like the parents sadly abandoned their nest once festival preparation began, so it’s difficult to say how long the chicks were left alone.”

All seems to be well now, though, with the owls – who are thought to be siblings – now in an outside aviary, with plans to release them back into the wild when they’re old enough.

And because our minds instantly went on to GN’R/bird puns, we’re happy to see that David joked: “When Guns N’ Roses were playing Welcome To The Jungle I’m sure they didn’t realise how close they actually were to wildlife.”

Taking to Twitter to share a photo of his new namesake, Slash posted, “Owls rescued from Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage after Guns N’ Roses iiii]; )”

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