A reader named Kirsten has contacted us from the north of the island to thank us for the article about shearwaters in this month’s magazine.
Kirsten told us that on Monday evening a big bird was stranded in her garden in the north of the island. Able to walk, but unable to fly, our article helped her to identify it as a shearwater. The next morning she contacted the Wildlife Recovery Service, who arrived rapidly and took charge of the shearwater.
Kirsten’s letter also confirms that the shearwaters’ maiden flights are now taking place, and the risk of young birds being stranded on the north of the island is high. .
Kirsten would also like to thank the Wildlife Recovery Service, who will check the bird and then release it safely. It will then fly off for five or six years of endless exploration of the wide Atlantic before it returns to Lanzarote to breed.
If you find a stranded shearwater, you are advised to call or Whatsapp the Wildlife Recovery Service (Servicio de Recogida de Fauna Silvestre Accidentada) on 696 733 177 or call 112. To move the bird to safety use a towel to cover it, avoiding the beak, and place it in a cardboard box. Do not attempt to feed it or release it yourself.
For regular updates, pictures and videos of Lanzarote be sure to like and follow our Facebook page “Gazette Life Lanzarote”.
