Weather-beaten seabirds rescued off banks of the Severn
Wardens at a nature reserve in Gloucestershire are keeping watch for injured seabirds after a number have been blown off course by the stormy weather.
Staff at Slimbridge Wetland Centre have already rescued a gannet and several Manx shearwaters after they arrived at the end of last week and were too weak to feed.
These Atlantic-dwelling species are rarely seen at Slimbridge but have been blown hundreds of miles off course by the strong south westerly gales.
The storms have brought other rare visitors such as a Buff-breasted sandpiper, normally found in Arctic Canada, two Sabine’s Gulls, two Arctic skuas and a guillemot.
More are expected to arrive overnight when stronger winds are due to hit.
Most of the arrivals are resting and feeding here while they wait for the winds to drop before heading off again, but a few have looked particularly weak so staff have stepped in to save them.
[caption id="attachment_2990" align="alignright" width="225" caption="James Lees with the gannet rescued from Gloucester by Jonathan Reeves"]
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James Lees, reserve warden, said: “In many ways as a birdwatcher it is exciting to see these unusual visitors at Slimbridge but it is also sad to see some of the ones that are struggling.
“We have managed to intervene successfully when necessary and are watching out for any other cases in which we need to step in.
“The gannet was blown past Slimbridge and we received a call from Gloucester to say it had landed there so I collected it and gave it to a wildlife centre nearby . I looked after the manx shearwaters and tube fed them four times a day before re-releasing them in better conditions on Friday evening. The shearwaters were juveniles, which had only just left their nests, so they didn't have the strength or experience to fly through the weather."
