One of the rarest wild birds (in the UK, at least) was brought into our hospital on Monday the 7th November.

A farmer brought in an unidentified bird that he had found in a field in Whitchurch.  He had seen it earlier in the day and thought it was a crow that it couldn't fly.  At the end of the day he took sympathy and picked the bird up and took it to a local vet.

The vet realised it was something more than a crow and Mr Harney was advised to bring the bird to us at Lower Moss Wood.  Ray (the warden) managed to identify the bird as a frigatebird.  The frigatebird was at death's door so we gave the bird fluid therapy to get it through the night.  The bird was very lively in the morning. so I notified Chester Zoo.  they sent a vet and someone to identify the bird.  As it stands it was identified as a magnificent frigate bird.  We will update this story as we get more news.

This is only the third frigatebird recorded in Great Britain since 1800; There was one in the outer hebrides in the 1950s and another on the Isle of Man; in addition, this particular species has not been recorded on mainland Britain at all, and is not on the British Ornithological Union's  list of British species.