Fulmar
Rescue
29th July
13.00
As this is now the time that Fulmars return to the sea after the
breeding season Medic Bob Pert checked the kilns for trapped Fulmars
but did not expect to find any. However on checking the kiln there
was one bird trapped, obviously this one hadn't paid attention to
nature's rules! After waiting for assistance from his wife, Julie,
Bob abseiled into the kiln and retrieved the bird. The bird hadn't
been there long but, thankfully, it's vomit aim was well wayward!
A quick hoist up in the rescue bag and the bird was on it's way
to the sea. Hopefully this is the last of this year's casualties
but the kilns will continue to be checked for some time.
Thanks to Julie Pert for her assistance and Julie's friend, Ann
Harris, for driving her out to Boddin. No rescues of these birds
are now done without, at least, two persons present and, given today's
delay, checking the kilns will not be done unless there are, at
least, two persons present.
Bob Pert BDMLR
Seal
uplift at Beadnell - Northumberland
23rd July 2006
Called by Faye, who was in the process
of hunting for a dolphin ( a regular Sunday activity I hear! ) who
had received a call via Humber Coastguard reporting a seal ashore
at Beadnell (small village 50 miles north of Newcastle) called in
by a holidaymaker from the nearby caravan park.
After ringing around a number of the
medics in the north Tyne area, and finding them to either have their
phones off, be out or generally enjoying the weather far too much
to take their phone out, I packed the kids (Jake 4, Patrick 17 months)
into the car & set out to have a look.
On arrival at Beadnell I found that
my two sons were quite obviously overcome with excitement at the
prospect of possibly rescuing a seal I called the number of he person
who phoned about the seal, and they arranged to meet me at the entrance
to the caravan site to take me to where it was.
As I was waiting, I got a call from
Adrian Hardy, one of my non-answering medics, who had the rather
lame excuse of being unable to get to his phone as it was in his
car while he was under water diving. As luck would have it, he was
diving about 2 minutes up the road, and as his partner Louise wasn't
going back in, she would be more than happy to come along to assist.
Once I had picked her up (trying not to take the p too much about
Adrian's Pirates of the Caribbean themed headgear) we went to find
the people who found the seal.
Packing
Patrick into his pushchair, and shoving my seal kit underneath,
we headed for the beach, and hopefully a fit but resting seal.
After about 1/2 a mile we came to the rather strangely named Dunnygoat
beck, which we had to cross, Louise keeping an eye on Jake, now
without shoes and socks, and myself and two of the holidaymakers
lifting Patrick's mode of transport across (I am hoping he didn't
enjoy the sedan chair method, as he may get ideas above his station)
spotting the seal very easily on the other side.
He was exceptionally thin, and a great distance from the shoreline,
and from first glance I knew he was going to need help.
I made one of the easiest grabs so far, on an animal that had about
as much fight in him as the model I had been using at Vetsim the
previous week. Neck, shoulders and hips were very obvious, and I
could easily feel ribs beneath lose skin. He measured dead on 70cm
from nose to tail.
I called
Faye to update her, and to also see if she could call my local seal
B&B to see if they would take her, while I arranged transport
from the beach, which she said she would or arrange a relay down
to the next available seal hospital if the answer was no. Adrian
had mentioned seeing a Coastguard rescue vehicle going past him,
so that gave me an idea.
After
a quick call to Humber Coastguard, Seahouses Coastguard rescue team
(CRT) were asked if they would mind helping, which they didn't mind
at all. Calling me by radio (as I also volunteer for a team that
works for HMCG) they pinpointed my position, despite my poor description
and total lack of local knowledge, and headed to meet me. I quickly
found myself with not one but 2 CRTs! as Craster CRT had popped
along to see if they could help too.
Faye
called back saying that the seal had a place to stay locally, and
that I just had to get him to an RSPCA officer in Ponteland (40
miles south) so once he was loaded into a recently donated fish
box, he was carried up the beach to the waiting HMCG 4x4s, and loaded
in the back alongside my sons buggy.
The lads were also king enough to give us a nice and gentle ride
back to the caravan park so as to avoid panicking the seal, then
helped load him into my car ready for the ride south.
As I dropped Louise off to Adrian's
car, he had finished his diving lesson (local instructor, good rates
;-) ) ad offered to take the seal to Ponteland to save me the extra
time, as it was now quite late and I had (until reminded by my wife)
accidentally forgotten about feeding my children (plenty of juice
though, so don't worry!)
Jake named the seal (with Adrian and
Louise's help) 'Sharky' after the sharks on his underpants (Jakes,
not the seals...) as his trousers had been removed due to the excess
water and sand which both my children were now affected by, due
to their hydrophilic properties.
Last report from the B&B was that the Sharky had been tube fed,
weighed in at 8kg, but had perked up.
Huge thanks must go out to Alex and Bernie at Humber, the Seahouses
and Craster CRTs who did all the heavy lifting of seal and pushchair,
Donna and Graeme who made the first call, and Louise of help with
sprog watching and Adrian for seal transport and comedic headwear
;-)
Richard
Ilderton - BDMLR North East Coordinator
Porpoise
Rescue – St. Fergus, Buchan
20th July 2006
At 0510 this morning
I received a phone call from Grampian Police to advise that they
had come across a dolphin stranded on the sandbar at St. Fergus
near Peterhead. ( map - HERE
)
They had obtained my number from the BDMLR website
and were unsure who to call.
I immediately sent out a group text message to try
and get some willing volunteers and also made contact with Nick
Duthie (Aberdeenshire Coordinator) and Elaine Roft (Montrose Coordinator).
Both Nick and Elaine gave some helpful pointers and advice and set
about trying to raise some help from their group members. Throughout
the entire time, Grampian Police continued to call me up and relay
information on the dolphin.
I hitched up RU02 and headed off on the 10-mile drive to meet up
with the police.
On arrival at the scene, PC Calvert was stood on
the foreshore keeping an eye on the dolphin. I headed back to the
trailer to get my drysuit and lifejacket on so that I could head
out to the sandbar and begin to assess the dolphin. By this time
it was apparent that it was actually a porpoise that had become
stuck between the land and the sandbar and was trying to head back
to sea, unfortunately it had to cross the sandbar to get there.
When I got to the porpoise a short assessment of its condition was
carried out to ascertain what actions should be taken. The porpoise
was in very good condition and was very active whilst thrashing
around in the water and trying to cross the sandbar. The porpoise
was supported upright and blowhole kept free of the wash then moved
in to deep water still on the inside of the sandbar. She was thrashing
around in the water and then swam off trying to make a break for
freedom but ended up on the beach. This was not an ideal situation
as the breakers on the beach was beginning to cause signs of stress.
I asked if PC Calvert would support the porpoise
whilst I headed back to RU02 to get some equipment to support her
on the beach and then we would work her progressively back in to
the water. PC Calvert did an excellent job supporting her upright,
maintaining trenches, keeping moist and keeping the blowhole from
becoming submerged – all this and he was in his best police
uniform with waves breaking over his head at times!
When I got to the car park some locals had arrived
for morning walks, they offered to help so I delegated them some
equipment to carry down to the waters edge.
The porpoise was placed on the pontoon system and
then moved out in to a deeper area of water where she was rocked
back and forth and the tail fluke was also worked.
After a quick check on the usual signs I decided
to go for it and take her a bit further out then release her. She
was pointed in the direction to escape the sandbar and by this time
the tide had rose considerably so things were looking hopeful.
Unfortunately she re-stranded and we got her back
on the pontoon system. There was now slight bleeding from the tail
fluke where she had caught it on a rock after ending up on the beach
again and back in the surf.
Medic Angi Long was now in attendance and let the PC Calvert go
and get dried off.
We got her back in the deeper water on the pontoon
system and after approximately 10 minutes and a quick check over
we decided that we had best try again. The porpoise was getting
tired had became stressed again due to re-stranding so we had our
fingers crossed that this time she would make it away.
The pontoons were deflated and the tail fluke allowed
room to splash around, the pontoons were then removed and she was
off. She went around us in a big circle and then headed safely off
in to the North Sea.
A good lookout was kept to ensure she never re-stranded
and then the equipment was loaded up. Nick Duthie and the other
team members were informed that they could stand down and I headed
off to work.
Angi stayed on the beach and met with Nick when
he arrived. They both kept a good lookout for a short while before
Nick headed on up the beach by foot to see if he could see her.
Grampian police were informed that the incident
had been resolved and the coastguards were also informed that the
porpoise was back in the water. Further checks by my team and I
will be carried out later today and this evening.
Many thanks must go to Grampian police for having
such a vigilant eye and spotting the stranded porpoise, PC Calvert
for getting very hands on in the water with the porpoise, Nick Duthie(Aberdeenshire
Coordinator) for answering my early morning wake up call and heading
up to assist, Elaine Roft(Montrose Coordinator) for organising her
team of medics that were ready to attend at a minutes notice, they
were Medic Willie Taylor, Medic Allan Muir, and Elaine. Thanks also
to Medic Angi Long for getting involved/keeping a watch and the
helpful locals for carrying the kit down to the scene.
Andrew Ireland
Buchan Coordinator
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Bottlenose
dolphin stranding - Cumbria
Friday
14th July & Saturday 15th July
[
click on images to enlarge ]
21.30
We were in the pub when Faye Archell (Essex Coordinator & 'on-call'
for BDMLR nationally) rang to ask if we could help a dolphin at
somewhere between Arnside and Silverdale. As we were having a BDMLR
meeting in the pub, husband Rob and Tracy Routledge were with me.
I asked Faye to call Glen Budden at Barrow as he was nearer but
said we would attend. ( Map of area - HERE
)
01:00 Saturday 15th
July
We had some difficulty finding the dolphin but we met up with Arnside
Coastguard, Morecambe RNLI, Vet, Dave Williams (Co-ordinator) and
Glen 
(medic).
By the time we arrived the vet had seen and treated the dolphin
that appeared fit but disoriented. The dolphin was large and remained
in the water.
03:00
Morecambe RNLI had deployed a hovercraft to reach the dolphin and
with all that could be achieved in the dark completed the teams
stood down. The 5 BDMLR personnel returned to cars to sleep (?)
until first light.
04:00
At first light, Tracy, Rob and myself started down stream following
the river estuary looking for the dolphin. On our return upstream
Rob spotted the dolphin on the far side on the railway viaduct.
05:00
Dave and Glen joined us and we tried to get to the dolphin. He was
in a sheltered tidal pool so we had concerns that the water would
remain 
deep
enough for him as low tide was expected to be around 09:30. He was
a very large bottlenose dolphin. We maintained a watch and he seemed
well and co-ordinated and our hopes rose. Would he be fit enough
to make it back out to sea as the tide rose?
07:00
Obtained hot drinks and chocolate bars.
08:00
First people arrived and were surprised to see the dolphin. We were
not letting anyone know about the dolphin but news travels fast
in small communities and our cars had been spotted. Many others
started arriving. I asked others how they had heard and it had been
announced on local radio early in the morning. We realised that
he could be seen from the main street of the village through the
railway arches and every passing train had a good view of him in
the water below.
10:00
Bacon rolls and tea. Fantastic. We were keeping watch and answering
questions. We were sitting on a rocky slope supporting the viaduct.
The area can be seen on a map as the estuary of the River Kent leading
from Morecambe bay and an area of quicksand and a tidal bore that
comes in very fast, so fast that a Klaxon is sounded to warn the
public.
13:50
Klaxon sounds. Coastguard in attendance to warn onlookers of the
danger as many people are now dolphin watching.
14:10
Second Klaxon sounds. Coastguard start moving people away from danger
areas.
14:30
Tidal bore comes in fast. The dolphin is carried by the current
to the far shore and then swept upstream along the channel. The
dolphin is unable to fight against the tide and is seen to be rolling
over on several occasions. He tries to get upright only to be rolled
again by the current. The Arnside Coastguard have already provided
us with information about this area – it is not accessible
by boat as it is shallow until high tide and then is dangerous because
of the fast currents. At this stage it is not looking good.
We watch the dolphin through binoculars and decide to track it by
car.
15:30
The once empty car park is now full of onlookers and so we set off
up the coast towards Sandside, stopping at intervals to get a view
of the dolphin. We have an ever growing number of cars following
us.
16:00
Sandside. The dolphin can be seen 100 metres off shore, too far
to reach from land and too shallow for rescue boats to reach him.
17:00
We watch as the tide turns and he is carried further away from us.
Dave and Tracy go to the far shore by car to try to get to the area
where we think the dolphin might reach.
17:30
We can see that the dolphin has now stranded on a sandbank between
us and the far shore where Tracy and Dave are, We obtain local help
and Sarah guides us to an access point near the dolphin. (Actually
across fields and over and under barbed wire.) A family with a small
dinghy have gone onto the sandbank and are pouring water on the
dolphin. I take my shoes off and Will takes me across the deep channel
to the dolphin. With assistance from the 6 people on the sandbank
we get the dolphin upright and his blowhole clear of the water.
17:45
Glen, Dave and Tracy are rowed over to the sandbank to care for
the dolphin.
18:15
The vet arrives and an assessment of the dolphins condition is made.
The dolphin is distressed and to alleviate further suffering the
decision is taken to euthanase, following consultation with BDMLr
Director & Vet James Barnett.
The dolphin was a
large (>3.5m) male Bottlenose dolphin. The dolphin was 100% NOT
Marra, the heavily reported 'local' dolphin.
Thanks to everyone who took part in this rescue
attempt, all the BDMLR medics/co-ordinators, Liverpool MRSC and
Arnside Coastguard, Morecambe RNLI, Bay Rescue Team, Police and
Vet. Thanks also to all members of the public who helped and supported
us.
Jenny Watkins
BDMLR Cumbria Co-ordinator
[ BBC OnLine news report - click HERE
]
[ Images © Susan Premru ]
Seals
shot in Orkney
9th July
Throughout the past
week I have received several reports of dead seals on the island
of Glims Holm, Orkney. Glims Holm is an uninhabited island with
vehicular access by the causeways that block several of the entrances
into Scapa Flow. On investigation I discovered seven dead seals
all of which had been shot through the head with a high powered
rifle. Within a short stretch of the shoreline there were three
common seal pups, one common adult and three juvenile greys. This
incident has been reported to the police for further investigation.
Within a mile of the location where the carcasses were discovered
there is a traditional haul-out for commons and juvenile greys.
I have included 2
photographs to illustrate the carnage that has once again taken
place. [click on images to enlarge]
Ross Flett
O.S.R and B.D.M.L.R. co-ordinator for Orkney
