Well done to Zeman, Martin and Jess from Thousand Island Expeditions for rescuing a sub-adult gannet they discovered on a trip out to the RSPB reserve of Grassholm yesterday. The bird was tangled in mono-filament fishing line and would have died a slow and lingering death without their intervention Click here to see a video of the event.
RSPB staff head out of Grassholm each October to cut free young birds which are tangled on their nests but as this video shows, adult and sub-adult birds also fall foul to fishing gear that ends up in the sea. This is the third bird in as many weeks Zeman and Martin have had to deal with on the water.
Zeman and Martin are experienced in handling large seabirds. A gannet’s bill can be a powerful weapon so if you encounter a bird like this on a beach we would recommend calling the RSPCA or a local wildlife hospital rather than try and handle it yourself.
Grassholm is home to the 4th largest northern gannet colony in the world at just under 40,000 pairs. Thousand Islands run trips out there most days during the summer months if the weather is good. There is no public landing on the island due to the disturbance it would cause but a fantastic experience can be gained by going round the island by boat. RSPB would thoroughly recommend a trip with Thousand Islands who also have the sole landing rights for Ramsey Island