Four baby robins who travelled 192 miles in a trailer are being cared for by animal carers at Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre near Burnham-On-Sea.
The long-distance babies came all the way to Glastonbury from Warrington, near Liverpool, before the driver realised he was carrying the precious cargo.
Barry Dalton from Compton Commercials in Glastonbury told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We had to go and collect two of our trailers from Warrington, near Liverpool. We brought them back to Glastonbury, and when we were giving the trailer a safety inspection I could hear cheeping. I looked down and saw a little bird on the floor, and thought ‘What are you doing there?'”
“I put him in a box, but then I could still hear cheeping from the trailer! So I looked inside, and up on the crossmember by the fifth wheel there was a nest of baby birds. They’d come all the way from Warrington to Glastonbury in the chassis of our trailer – a 4 hour, 192 mile journey!”
“We took the nest out carefully, and contacted Secret World Wildlife Rescue, near Highbridge in Somerset, who have taken the birds in. Sometimes we find old nests in our vehicles but we’ve never found a nest full of baby birds before!”
The robins – which have been named named John, Paul, George and Ringo – cannot be returned to their parents now so are being reared at Secret World in East Huntspill.
Marlies Hebdon, of Secret World’s animal care team, is caring for the orphans and said: “They can fly a bit now and I’m encouraging them to feed themselves. All being well, they will be with us for a couple of weeks, spending some time in an outside aviary before they are ready to be released back into the wild.”
“We’re so glad that Barry cared enough to save these young birds and that he knew he could call us for help. We’re here 24/7 for orphaned and injured wildlife, and we’re getting busier – that’s why we’ve launched an urgent appeal. Please support us and make sure we’re always here for baby birds like these robins, and any wild animal who needs us.”
Pictured: The baby robins are being cared for at Secret World Wildlife Rescue (photo: Marlies Hebdon)
