AssetID: 54925901
Headline: Oona The Wayward Puffin Returns Home To The Sea After Getting Lost In The West Midlands
Caption: A lost puffin found more than 100 miles off course in a garden in Herefordshire has been returned to his natural habitat off the Welsh coast. The wayward seabird, named Oona by vets, was nearly half her species' usual weight when she was discovered in Stoke Lacey near Hereford in late June. After several weeks in the care of Vets for Pets Hereford and the RSPCA, she was finally released into the sea at Martin's Haven, Pembrokeshire and took to the waves like, well, a puffin to water. It is hoped she will now rejoin what's likely to be her colony. The vets were initially sceptical when they received the call about Ooona, with Hereford being landlocked and 110 miles from the nearest coast, as the puffin flies. “We were surprised, to say the least,” said Head Vet Dr. Elliot Goodwin. “Puffins never venture this far inland unless they're disoriented or have been blown off course. “It's likely she was returning to her nesting site in West Wales and lost her way.” Upon arrival, Oona was weak and underweight but was nursed back to health. Happily and to the delight of all she is now back on the sea - where she belongs.
Keywords: Natural World,puffin,Oona,Herefordshire,Vets for Pets Hereford,Martin's Haven,Pembrokeshire,Skomer Island,Skokholm,wildlife rescue,rehabilitation,RSPCA,seabird,lost puffin,bird care,West Wales
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