RSPCA Friends of West Hatch Newsletter Autumn-Winter 2018 | issue 15 | Page 15

Blown off course:
Manx Shearwaters in Somerset
This autumn the wildlife centre admitted
around 50 Manx shearwaters over a period
of just a few days.
The newly-fledged birds had been found
storm-blown and struggling on the beaches
of Wales and the West Country. At the
Centre their care regime included up to
three fish soup feeds a day, and treatment
for those with sore feet and other injuries.
Many had to be washed to get their feathers
clean and then allowed to dry in a warm
room. Fortunately many of them progressed
quickly and so were ready to return to the
wild within a matter of days. This meant they
could then continue their seasonal migration
to the south, some potentially even heading
as far away as South America.
4 FACTS
about Shearwaters
• The Manx Shearw
ater
measures around
30-35 cm
in length and ha
s a wingspan
of 71-83 cm.
• The prefix Manx
refers to a
once large colony
of
Shearwaters orgin
ally found
on a small island
south of the
Isle of Man.
• The Manx Shearw
ater’s Latin
name, ‘Puffinus pu
ffinus’, is
misleading as th
ey are not
related to Puffins
!
• Females lay a sin
gle white egg
per season.
The “Living with” series of factsheets
can be found on the RSPCA website,
along with factsheets on our “Wild
birds and netting” and “Wild animals
and glue traps” projects; find them at:
www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/
wildlife/livingwith