​In the summer, a small puffin named Oona hit the headlines after she was found to have been blown 110 miles inland, ending up in the north Herefordshire village of Stoke Lacey. Oona, named after the cartoon character in the childrens’ TV show, Puffin Rock, was initially nursed back to health at Hereford’s Vets for Pets veterinary surgery, where she captured the hearts of many. Vets for Pets Hereford practice owner Elliot Goodwin said at the time that the bird, which is on the UK red list for conservation concern, had likely become confused when flying back to a nest site, likely to be Skokholm or Skomer. The surgery later transported Oona to the RSPCA West Hatch for rehabilitation and was then released back into the wild on the Pembrokeshire coast, with Dr Goodwin on hand for the release. Ryan Walker, supervisor at the RSPCA’s West Hatch Wildlife Centre, said Oona had become a “bit of local celebrity”, so staff were left a “little star-struck” upon her arrival to the centre. “We’ve only had six puffins in care here over the last decade, so the arrival of Oona has been news for staff here – and a first since 2021,” he said. “Our expert team of oiled bird washers gave Oona a luxury spa day to wash away her woes, and any residual oil contaminating her waterproofing. “Having spent some time recovering in one of our pools, and eaten plenty of fish, Oona was ready for release back into the wild.” Stay updated with all the latest Herefordshire news that matters to you! Read the local news and stay informed with our advert-free app, read the paper before anyone else via: The Digital Edition, gain unlimited access to Hereford Times website, and much more. ” As you can imagine, we get phone calls about all sorts of wildlife and sometimes people get a bit confused and think some things are something different than what they actually are,” Dr Goodwin said at the time. “So we didn’t quite believe it was going to be a puffin but no, sure enough, she came in with the puffin.”