Early bird hatched months ahead of schedule rescued by north-east charity

An owl chick that hatched months ahead of schedule has been rescued by a north-east wildlife charity.

The New Arc rescue centre near Ellon was contacted by Town and Country vets in Aberdeen on Wednesday evening after the tiny tawny was found in Tullos woods by a dog walker.

The species does not typically hatch until later in the year and as a result if left in the wild it would have had little chance of surviving.

Staff at the rescue centre have nicknamed their fluffy new resident Doodles.

Keith Marley from The New Arc said: “They say the early bird catches the worm, but sadly this one is far too early and would be lucky to even get worms to eat.

“Normally we expect to see tawny chicks arrive in late April and May, when voles and mice are more abundant.

“We have never heard of Tawny owls in this part of the world being born this early – probably late January.”

Doodles will be hand-fed until he can care for himself and he will then be transferred to an outside aviary.