Blown away

14.06.11

One of our wildlife centres has been flooded with baby gulls after unusually windy weather blew them out of their nests.

There have been 70 newly hatched fledglings brought into Mallydams Wood wildlife centre in Hastings, East Sussex in need of help over the past two weeks, double the normal average for this time of year.

It is thought the hatching of the birds coincided with a particularly blustery period and this caused the unsteady youngsters to be blown off rooftops.

Gulls traditionally nest high up and urban nesting sites includes three story town houses and industrial buildings as high as 30 feet, a long way for the chicks to fall.

Some were injured in the fall and others needed care because they were orphaned but nearly all have thrived since being brought into Mallydams and look set to be released back into the wild in the next couple of months.

Richard Thompson, wildlife officer, said:

We have had a sudden flurry of very young baby gulls arriving here in need of our care at the same time.

Tiny birds like this hatching at the same time as 30 mile an hour winds are whirling around the rooftops is really not a good combination.

It is a real shame they have had such a shaky start to their lives, but most of the birds are now doing well and we hope they will be strong enough to fly away and make their own way back to the wild very soon.

June is the time of year when gull chicks begin to hatch and they typically take about 30 to 35 days to fledge from an egg.

Wildlife casualties

Herring gull casualties make up 40 per cent of the arrivals every year at Mallydams Wood, many of them victims of purposeful and brutal attacks like air rifle shooting and nest destruction.

Gulls are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It is illegal to kill them, their chicks or disturb their nests and eggs.

More information

Anyone finding an injured or orphaned gull should call the RSPCA emergency helpline on 0300 1234 999.

 

If you are worried about a baby animal read our advice: what to do with orphaned wild animals.
 

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Fledgling season at a wildlife centre

Young birds, often brought in by members of the public, arrive at our wildlife centres throughout the spring and summer, until September.
Read our case study.
 

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