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Argentina-bound seabird found in landlocked county

Alex PopeNorthamptonshire
News imageLeicestershire Wildlife Hospital A Manx shearwater bird, photographed sideways on, with its beak up. It is sitting in water and is grey and white.Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital
The Manx shearwater was found in Northamptonshire and has been cared for by the Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital

A young seabird bound for Argentina has been found "grounded and exhausted" in a landlocked county, more than a hundred miles from home.

The Manx shearwater was spotted making a noise in a garden in Crick, Northamptonshire, on Friday.

The homeowners called staff at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital, based in Kibworth Beauchamp, who first offered help and advice on the phone before collecting the bird for treatment.

Amy Blower, from the charity, said the species normally lives along the west coast of the UK and an employee was planning to drive to Aberystwyth, Wales, on Wednesday to release it.

News imageLeicestershire Wildlife Hospital A Manx shearwater bird, looking towards the camera, with a long beak. It is sitting on a towel. It has a white front, with black and grey dark feathers on its head, side and wing.Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital
The RSPB said the birds are known to be "supreme marine explorers"

Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital said: "It is likely that they became exhausted during their first long flight and just came crashing down."

The bird was uninjured, but needed rest and a wash.

Blower said it was not the first time such a case had happened.

"They are coastal sea birds; they are not normally seen in the centre [of the country] but we do get one or two a year," she said.

"It's often because when they migrate on their first big flight they can become disorientated by things like street lights, or there are storms, or heavy rain."

News imageLeicestershire Wildlife Hospital A Manx shearwater bird, sitting in water, sideways on, with grey, black and white feathers. It has black eyes. Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital
The charity rescues animals from across Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and the Coventry area

Blower continued: "They can be thrown off their migration course, which is South America, Argentina.

"They are normally on the west coast, so one of our team leaders will travel to Aberystwyth.

"Their nests are in burrows under the ground so we give them a box to mimic this, which they always seem to appreciate."

News imageLeicestershire Wildlife Hospital A Manx shearwater bird, sitting on a blue and white striped towel, in a white plastic box. It has white and dark feathers. It is sat down and has a long beak. Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital
The juvenile bird has been put in a box to remind it of its underground nest

Manx shearwaters facts:

  • They are heroic ultra-explorers that are epic adventurers across entire oceans
  • From July the chicks fledge at night to the coast of South America, a distance of 6,000 miles
  • They are one of the longest-lived UK birds, with one recorded as reaching the age of 55
  • During their lifetime they can travel more than five million miles, the equivalent of flying to the moon and back roughly 10 times

Source: RSPB

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