AN OWL which crash landed on a North Sea oil rig has been released back into the wild by the Scottish SPCA.

As previously reported in the Advertiser, the short-eared owl was taken to the charity's National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross after being found on E.ON's Huntington platform last month.

The injured bird was flown to the mainland with returning crew members.

It is thought the stricken owl had flown onto the rig from Scandinavia, Russia or Iceland.

It joins a number of other owls which have been rescued and nursed back to health in recent times.

Colin Seddon, manager of the Fishcross centre, 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."

Colin has also reminded members of the public who discover injured or distresses animals to call the animal helpline on 03000 999 999.

For more information about the work the SSPCA centre in Fishcross does, visit www.scottishspca.org