Born to be Wild in Bude - News

RNLI lifeguards on Widemouth beach in Bude helped rescue 12 exhausted sea birds on Wednesday afternoon (7 September). The Manx Shearwater birds were migrating to Argentina where they spend the winter when they were blown back to shore by strong wind and rain.

More than 400 of the birds were blown into Newgale in Pembrokeshire, Wales on the same day. The birds which live in the cliff face, do not usually take off from the land, instead they fall off the cliffs and fly away, so once they were blown off course they were stranded.

On Widemouth, Senior RNLI lifeguard Ian Burgess and colleague Richie Heard picked up two birds from the water which were getting battered by the relentless surf, while other exhausted and water logged birds were lying on the beach.

Ian, Richie and other RNLI lifeguards, Tom Comber and Eddie Kennard put the exhausted birds in boxes next to heaters in the lifeguard unit before calling Sue Gear, a local lady from Morwenstow who singlehandedly runs Born to be Wild. A charity which takes in injured wildlife, gives them food and water, medication and rehabilitation until they are ready to be released back into the wild.

Sue, who works in a local vetinary practice arrived at the beach expecting to pick up just three birds, instead she ended up taking home 12 from Widemouth and over the next few days another three from other local beaches.

Sue says;

‘The RNLI lifeguards did a great job to help all the birds and give them the best possible chance of survival. I will now take them to the West Hatch wild life centre in Somerset where they will join the other birds which were rescued in Wales. West Hatch has the expertise and experience in dealing with large numbers of seabirds and they will help the birds back to full strength so they can be released back into the wild.

I had to make a trip to Morrison’s to collect some local Sprats and the house smells pretty fishy so I will be glad to move them on.’

Phil Hill, RNLI lifeguard Divisional Manager says;

‘The lifeguards made good use of a quiet day on Widemouth to help the birds. Working and  a lot of the time, living close to or on the beach, the RNLI lifeguards are passionate about their local environment and the wildlife that inhabits it, so they were determined to help the birds. We have our fingers crossed they will make a full recovery.’