A SMALL injured bird found by a Tavistock schoolboy has been identified as a rare Leach's Petrel, blown hundreds of miles off course by the recent storms.
The bird, exhausted and sporting a head injury, was found under a hedge by eight-year-old William Glover, a pupil at Tavistock Primary School last week.
'I found it in the playground, in a corner. It was all fluffed up and upside down. At first it was a bit scared, then he calmed down,' said William.
He took the little bundle to Mrs Anne Young, a teaching assistant at the school and they took it to the local vets.
William, a keen ornithologist, said: 'I thought it was a normal bird at first, but then I thought it was very peculiar because it had a strange beak with a lump on it and webbed feet.'
Denise Nordenhall, office manager at Westmoor Vets, said: 'At first we thought he was a Storm Petrel, but later found he was a Leach's Petrel — he's quite rare.'
The bird spent the night at the surgery, but Denise said he was difficult to look after.
However, once over the initial crisis the bird was taken to the South Devon Seabird Trust at Bishopsteignton for more specialist care. There he has become a bit of a celebrity, with twitchers from far and wide flocking to see him.
Trust founder Jean Bradford said if it hadn't been for William and Denise he wouldn't have survived.
But regular feeds of liquidised sprats had seen his weight increase from 30g to more than 40g — the minimum for a healthy adult bird — and when it has stabilised he will be released to continue his journey south.
'It will have set him back a bit, but he should be okay,' said Mrs Bradford.