Two Harry Potter stars are working their magic on elderly people in the north-east.
Owls Hedwig and Errol, which appeared in the young wizard’s first big-screen adventure, are part of a therapy programme for care-home residents and dementia patients.
The birds moved to a Buchan bird sanctuary last year and have started touring old people’s homes throughout the region. Care-home staff say the pair – with the 23 other owls which are also part of the programme – have been a huge hit with residents.
Hedwig retired from acting after his starring role in 2001’s Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, in which he played the titular schoolboy’s closest companion.
Errol, a great horned owl, delivered letters from Hogwarts in the first part of the film. They arrived at the Owl And The Pussycat Centre at Brucklay, near Maud, in the heart of rural Buchan, last spring.
Owner Ruth Hickling bought them from their previous owner in Orkney, who had signed a confidentiality agreement with film-makers Warner Brothers.
Mrs Hickling, who had no such ties with the studio, began using the birds for animal-assisted therapy sessions with people with autism and ADHD.
“We have been very busy since we opened,” she said.
“The birds appeared at a lot of shows and galas throughout the summer.
“We’ve also been taking the Harry Potter birds to schools, where they are a big hit with the kids.
“Then one day I got a call from a nursing home asking if we could bring the birds to see some of the residents.
“I wasn't sure how it was going to work out, but we went anyway.”
She said: “We’ve got 25 birds now, so we weren’t able to take them into the home all at once.
“We brought them in to the home one at a time and the response was amazing.
“What was incredible was that some of the people with dementia, who have very poor memories, were talking about the birds several weeks after we visited them.”
The sanctuary was partly funded with £4,000 from First Port, an organisation which funds social enterprise projects.
For more information, visit www.owlandpussycatcentre.co.uk