An owl rescued from a North Sea platform has been returned to the wild after it was rescued by the Scottish SPCA.
In October, oil workers had come to the rescue of the bird after it was discovered on E.ON’s Huntington platform last month and flown to the mainland with returning crew members.
Centre manager Colin Seddon said, “After this owl was rescued we took in a further five who were also found on North Sea oil rigs.
“There have been previous instances where birds have landed on rigs but to have this many owls in such a short space of time is unusual.
“These owls have quite likely flown over from Scandinavia, Russia or Iceland to spend the winter in Scotland.
“Most were merely exhausted, which could be due to high winds and stormy conditions.
“Some also had oil on them from the rigs which thankfully we were able to remove successfully.
“Of the six short eared owls, we have so far released five on the east coast north of Dundee.
“The remaining owl is currently in an aviary at our centre and will be returned to the wild shortly.
A number of oil workers have spotted the birds offshore and captured incredible images of them.
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