Guillemot in central London

Hello, we found a guillemot on a pavement in central London (Blackfriars) today, clearly tired, maybe injured, that couldn’t fly. It was rescued safely by local vet and Essex wildlife hospital . We were wondering how did it end there, considering they live by the cliffs… did it get lost? Did it swim up the Thames?

Anyone has any idea? Thanks!

  • It's an unusual place to find a Guillemot, but remember that they do fly considerable distances at sea, so it's not physically impossible. Your comment on the Thames being a potential gateway into London for a marine bird like this seems likely, to me.

  • Hi

    it's been blowing hard from various directions for a few days  and there are big numbers of seabirds coming up channel

    Auks and Gannets do turn up inland at this time of year

    For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides,  binoculars, scopes, tripods,  etc - put 'Birding Tips'   into the search box