Several puffins have been rescued by RSPCA wildlife carers in the Burnham area after being blown off course during recent high winds.
Dozens of birds from across the region have been taken to the RSPCA’s West Hatch Wildlife Centre near Taunton over the last few days.
They include four tired puffins who were found dotted along the south west shoreline from Falmouth to Brean.
One of the birds was found by a member of the public huddling for shelter under a caravan at Brean Sands Caravan Park.
“Atlantic puffins are not usual visitors to the beaches of Somerset and it is thought the young puffins were blown up to 20km off course from their home colonies on either Lundy, off North Devon, or Skomer, off the Pembrokeshire coast, by the strong winds,” said a spokesman.
RSPCA wildlife centre manager Peter Venn told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We have had more than the usual amount of storm blown birds in to the centre because of the severe weather we have been experiencing. But puffins are one of the more unusual ones.”
“The winds have been so heavy we think these puffins are just completely worn out by the stormy weather. It was lucky members of the public spotted them at their various locations.”
“They are now being hand fed and regularly monitored. When they are a little bigger they will all be put in to one of our pools together before hopefully being released when they are old enough and strong enough.”
“The puffins are not showing any signs of injury and are all very bright and alert. They are not oiled like many of the seabirds that come in to us are, just very disorientated.”
