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.

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Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

The first Magnificent frigatebird recorded in the UK. This bird was brought into the hospital suffering from exhaustion and stress after being blow way off course by storms in the Atlantic.

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.