Guillemot in bad shape (oil?)

[Reptilian]

Hi all.

I found this guy sat a rock on a local secluded beach yesterday. It'd been there for quite a while judging from all the droppings where it was sat. It didn't seem at all bothered by my presence, very lethargic. It spread his wings once but apart from that sat there with it's eyes closed unless i made any sudden movements.

Here are some shots.







The sea was rough yesterday and the tide would have definitely reached the bird within about 30mins from me being there. There was no way i could have carried the sick Guillemot to safety. To get off this beach you have to climb almost 50feet vertically.

It looks like oil to me, i have no idea where it managed to get in such a state though. I'm guessing i should report this to someone but I'm not sure who to get in touch with. RSPB?

I should go and check if it's still there when the tide goes out this afternoon.

Is there anything else i should do?

[Dae]

Sad to see a bird so ill. Don't know what's wrong with him, but perhaps contacting someone would be best, even if the bird isn't there any longer, your photos should help. Hopefully someone has some suggestions on who to contact.

[kml]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your poorly bird.If it is oil you should definatley contact someone as there will be a risk to other birds and marine life.The RSPB would know what to do or the BDMLR (british divers marine life rescue) both of thease deal with oil spill.Hope everything is okay and keep us posted.

[Reptilian]

I contacted the RSPB who said there wasn't really anything they could for an injured bird, i told them there could be a possibility others might be the same way so the woman on the phone put me through the RSPCA. They were slightly more interested and said call back if it's still there today. BDMLR also said the same thing but they wanted to know if it was there or not and asked me to check for more in the same condition.

I went to see if it was still there but it wasn't and no other birds seemed effected.

I rang BDMLR back like they asked and told them it wasn't there today. They said they would let the coordinator for this district know of the incident and maybe get someone down to take a look around.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Reptilian

Hi all.

I found this guy sat a rock on a local secluded beach yesterday. It'd been there for quite a while judging from all the droppings where it was sat. It didn't seem at all bothered by my presence, very lethargic. It spread his wings once but apart from that sat there with it's eyes closed unless i made any sudden movements.
I should go and check if it's still there when the tide goes out this afternoon.

Is there anything else i should do?

That's definitely oil, unfortunately. Perhaps you could take a rucksack if you go back and stick it in there and take it to your nearest wildlife hospital type place. Oiled Guillemots are ususally quite easy to pick up without much fuss.
DO NOT take it to the RSPCA they won't want anything to do with it.

In a similar incident a few years back, I picked one up off the beach at Littlehampton and put it in my rucksack. I then cycled ffrom the beach to the railway station, caught the train to Havant and then the next to Chichester. From Chichester I then had to cycle about 8 miles to Birdham bird hospital near Selsey. I got quite a few funny looks from passengers when I was sat on the train with a Guillemot sat quietly on my lap.

Cheers,

Adam