Rare owl saved by worker on oil rig

Article Date: 2004-06-09   Source: http://www.theherald.co.uk   Comments: 0

By Alan MacDermid

New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, U.K. - A tiny owl which was blown miles off course across the North Sea was recovering from hunger and exhaustion yesterday after being found stranded on an oil rig.

The Scops owl, which is only 7 inches tall, was flown ashore by helicopter from the Forties Delta platform 110 miles off Aberdeen.

It was was handed over to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and taken to Grampian Wildlife Rehabilitation Trust's wildlife hospital in New Deer, Aberdeenshire.

Native to southern Europe and Africa, and rarely seen in Britain, the bird is expected to be set free today.

Laurence Brain, a vet, said: "If this bird hadn't landed on the rig it would most definitely have landed in the sea. It was brought to us all tired and dishevelled and had lost 10% of its body weight."

He added: "We have looked after all sorts of animals here but what makes this one so special is that it is so uncommon to see them in Scotland. Scops owls are extremely rare birds to find in Britain with only around 24 recorded sightings."

Alison Adam, SSPCA senior inspector, who was involved in the rescue, said: "I didn't have a scooby what the owl was when I first saw it. It was very small with piercing bright eyes.
"At first I thought it might have been a young Tawny Owl but it had adult feathers. It was so bright and alert. Not a lot of people would have seen such a bird before."

Karen Warren, human resources manager for rig operator Apache, said: "The bird was found by one of the workers on the platform. I know he was very interested in the bird and was curious to find out what kind of owl it was, but I don't think the oil workers realised how rare the bird was."

Dr Alan Knox, a bird enthusiast from Aberdeen, said: "The Scops owl is the second smallest European owl."

Related Articles:
2009-11-11 - Owl making good recovery after being rescued from oil rig in North Sea by Charlotte Thomson - New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, U.K.

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