A baby heron suffering from shock after falling out of its nest is recovering well thanks to animal rescuers from Burnham-On-Sea.
The heron was brought into Secret World Wildlife Rescue’s centre in East Huntspill this week by a member of the public after it was found alone in Weston-super-Mare, last week.
After a full assessment by the charity’s animal care team, the bird was found to have no injuries and was weighed and given fluids.
The charity made the decision to transfer the heron to the RSPCA centre in West Hatch near Taunton, Somerset.
The RSPCA site is better suited for young birds and will allow the heron to socialise with its kind. It was taken there on the same day by one of the charity’s volunteer response drivers.
Secret World Animal Carer Katie Gibbs told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “When it first came to the centre I was surprised it managed to fit into a small carrier, until I realised it was only a baby.”
“It’s important for us at Secret World to work closely with other animal centres, including RSPCA West Hatch, to ensure that the animals get the best treatment and rehabilitation support.”
“Depending on capacity, expertise and appropriate facilities, animals are sometimes moved between wildlife centres in the interests of that individual animal and to give it the best chance of survival. This was the case for this particular heron.”
Once the baby heron has made a full recovery it will be released back into the wild, probably with some other rescued herons from the RSPCA centre. In 2017 Secret World rescued 212 water birds, including herons and swans.