Help!!! Please Read.

[theoldfart2]

I wrote a thread yesterday about dead birds on the beach.

This morning as I was coming back after taking the dog out for a crap, I espy a rather bedraggled bird standing in the car park. 

Poor  sod was in a bit of a state, starving and oiled up. So I caught the little devil and put him in the shed.

Then called the RSPCA who came over and picked him up.

The guy said that it was a Gillimot, and that they are getting between 15- 30 birds a day handed in. 

Some oiled up, all exhausted and starving.

The RSPCA are saving the ones that they can, feeding them up and will let them go when the time is right.

So , what this old Fart is asking, is that if you go fishing this weekend, or have time to go to the beach..... Please. Keep an eye out for any of the poor little sods that have washed up, and if you find one, grab it, box it and call the RSPCA who will come and get it.

To be honest with you, the thought of them just standing on the beach until they starve to death is upsetting to say the least, so help if you can

But be warned, if they are oiled up, the oil is toxic, so wash hands very well, and they nip a bit, but small price to pay for doing a good deed.

Many thanks

T O F

[gosling]

Good call TOF,

I remember when I was a nipper spending hours catching them after the Torrey Canyon and later the Pacific Glory disasters.
Always knew which ones would survive. They were the ones that tried to rip your hands to bits when you grabbed them.

[theoldfart]

Tell me about it, I got two Black Backed Gulls this weekend, both oiled up, but not badly.

You should see the state of my hands!

Big buggers ain't they.

I remember those wrecks, and the practice of tankers pumping out their tanks at sea and the damage that caused to wildlife and beaches.

Hopefully those bad days are long gone, but the oil that has got the birds that I have been picking up has come from somewhere.

Perhaps a wreck has been disturbed and spewed a bit out.

Let's hope it nothing major ,I still remember the stench of the oil back in those days,and how it was around for bloody years in lumps hidden under the sand and stones.

[loopy78]

Whereabouts/what side of the island TOF?

[theoldfart]

I have been getting them down the Back of the Wight, (West End) but the RSPCA guy says they are all along the coast.

Hopefully the weather dropping will give them a chance, but I recon that blow on Friday was the worst yet. I don't see how anything at sea could have survived that, and anything washed up on the beach would have died for sure as the waves were up to the cliff all along the island.

Very sad, and something most people don't realise is happening

[theoldfart]

I know I take the Pee out of the Nippers on this forum,and some don't realise it should be taken with a 'Pinch of Salt'

But I seriously hope you Nippers don't ever have to see the sights that we did with pathetic wild life coveted in oil flapping along the beach and hundreds of Rabbits lining the roadside with their eyes popping out as they died of Myxomatosis .
The only thing you could do was put them out of their misery, and I am talking of a fair few a week.

It was bloody awfull, but what could you do? No way will I let a creature suffer, and that goes for fish as well.

If I want to keep a fish I send it on its way quickly, as I hope you do as well.

I hoped I had forgotten those memories, they haunted my dreams for years

[loopy78]

I haven't seen any of the birds as yet but ref the mixi bunnies the strain that is around currently doesn't seem as severe as back in t'olden days, i've been told that some of the bunnies even recover from it now....

[theoldfart]

Bad old times back then.

My old chum popped round yesterday with a dead Puffin that had washed up on the beach.

Don't know where the poor bugger came from, but I haven't seen one of them round here for nigh on 50 years.

Hopefully now that the storms have dropped off, the seabirds will have a chance to feed and recover.

Still the weekend looks nice, think its time to get the rod out again.

Might go fishing as well!

[Sunny]

When I was fishing around Dubai i was on the lookout for small turtles that come back in the winter. They all return with barnacles encrusting their shells, but some are excessively covered. This slows them down to the point that they cannot feed properly and starve.

If you see one you are advised to bring them on board your boat/kayak and cover with a wet cloth. Under no circumstances should you attempt to remove the barnacles, as that rips off their skin (ouch!). Take said satrving turtle to the Dubai Government run recovery centre, where they keep the turtle in a brackish pool and feed it up. The mix of fresh water kills off the barnacles which drop off over the next few weeks.

Once clear of barnacles and fattened up on a high calorie diet, the young turtles are ready to return to the sea. The authorities call and give you the opportunity to come and see your turtle released ......I defy anyone not to have a tear in their eye at that moment...awesome.

I met guys who had done this, but I never found one that was distressed. But I did get to see litterally hundreds in the wild and that was bloomin amazing.


Rescuing sick sea birds is a great thing to do... well done to those that take up the challenge

[theoldfart2]

The way I look at is that humanity has fuxxxxx up most species on the planet, so any little thing we can do to help, may just count.