Volunteers from Burnham-On-Sea rescue charity BARB were on hand to help wildlife carers after the release of a sea bird didn’t go to plan on the top of Brean Down on Saturday afternoon (September 18th).
An injured Manx Shearwater that had been nursed back to health over several weeks by East Huntspill’s Secret World was launched back into the wild, as pictured here.
Wildlife carers Justin Slipper and Amy Middleton launched the bird from the top of the cliffs and expected it to fly out across the Bristol Channel to rejoin its feathered friends.
But instead, the bird flapped down onto the soft sand and mudflats below.
The crew of BARB’s rescue hovercrafts, who were in the area training and had been invited to monitor the bird release as a safety precaution, quickly retrieved the bird to avoid anyone putting themselves at potential risk by trying to reach it.
Secret World’s Justin Slipper said: “It was disappointing that the release ended with the bird landing. It appeared to much weaker than we thought, and will need further recuperation and treatment before another release is attempted.”
The bird was brought to Secret World after being found injured and in a weakened state at nearby Berrow.
Burnham’s Spirit of Lelaina was on the mudflats at Brean taking part in a training exercise at the same time as the bird release
Burnham Coastguard Roy Criddle, who was training with BARB at the time, retrieved the bird and handed it back to Secret World’s Justin Slipper. A TV crew from Malta, which is currently filming a reality series with Secret World, was on hand to record the bird release
