Ollie the Owl, 3 Others Set Free in Riverside Co.

Four owls that required human care -- including one that got stuck in the chimney of a south Riverside home -- have been released back into the wild, a county animal services spokesman said Saturday.

Ollie the great horned owl was discovered by Dwayne and Aida MacDonald at their home on McAllister Street on March 31, said Animal Services spokesman John Welsh.

Dwayne MacDonald said that at first, he heard a "tick, tick, tick," but was unsure what was causing the sound, and was even worried it was an earthquake.

"I could hear the sound in (the chimney), so I gently opened the door, and then I could see the black shadow of the bird," Dwayne MacDonald said.

"It was like an S.O.S. 'Help me, help me,'" said Aida MacDonald.

State-licensed wildlife rehab specialist Stephanie McKiernan helped make sure Ollie and the three other rescued owls were ready for release Friday evening at a four-acre field owned by a neighbor of the MacDonalds, said Welsh.

The property owner, Ed Saroni, helped release one of the four, a barn owl, Welsh said.