Second seabird blown 100 miles off course

A Manx shearwater has become the second seabird in a year to be found in Herefordshire after apparently being blown about 109 miles (175km) off course from the Welsh coast.

Its arrival comes a year after a puffin, also thought to have come from Skomer Island, was found in a garden near Stoke Lacy.

Elliot Goodwin, from Vets for Pets in Hereford, described the Manx shearwater as a "remarkable species".

He said the bird's "highly unusual" appearance in the county was likely caused by inexperience and strong south-westerly winds.

He said the bird was most likely a juvenile that had taken a wrong turn after leaving its nesting burrow and had probably come from Skomer Island, which is home to a large breeding colony.

Goodwin said the species was capable of journeys of about 6,000 miles during migration to South America.

Although Herefordshire is a relatively short trip for a bird capable of travelling thousands of miles, he said Manx shearwaters were adapted to life at sea and were not well equipped to navigate trees and buildings.

"They make use of the wind that skips across the surface of the sea," he explained. "They tire very quickly over land."

Unlike Oona the puffin, the unnamed Manx shearwater was uninjured and was returned to the Welsh coast after becoming lost.

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