A barn owl chick found close to death from starvation has been released into the wild after staff at a bird centre nursed it back to health.

Gamekeepers in Angus spotted the female owlet separated from her three siblings and perched on a gate and soaking wet with waterlogged feathers.

The owl was checked over by experts at Angus Falconry Services who said it had a minimal chance of survival due to dehydration and lack of food.

It was taken indoors and fed fluids throughout the night through a tube into its stomach before being given round-the-clock care for the first few days.

The emergency intervention helped save the bird's life and it is now well enough that gamekeepers have released it back on to the estate at Millden in Glen Esk.

Upon release, the owl flew straight back to the steading where it had hatched and fledged.

Gamekeeper Jason Clamp said: "When we saw the young owl on the gate, its wings were down and we knew immediately something wasn't right.

"We'd had a few nights of really heavy rain. Its down feathers were all wet and the falconry experts said it looked as if we had caught it just in time.

"It felt really skinny and it didn't look well at all. We knew it needed help quickly or it would die."

Steve Towell, of Angus Falconry Services, said starvation is the main killer of fledgling barn owls.

Around 70% of the species that fledge in the UK die in the first year.

He said: "It was touch and go. These things don't always work. It had basically gone into shutdown.

"We managed to get some fluids in it quickly, using a substance which is like a bird form of glucose, then after a while got it on to a food that is like a pate with all the vitamins it needs.

"It had a few days on that and, when it took a mouse, we knew we had to get it back out into the wild fairly soon after.

"The longer they are housed, they lose hunting fitness, which can be just as dangerous."