Puffin found in Herefordshire garden returned to wild

A puffin that was found 110 miles (177km) inland in a garden in Herefordshire has been returned to the Welsh coast.

The seabird, named Oona by vets, was nearly half the weight she should be when she was discovered in June in Stoke Lacey near Hereford.

After being cared for at Vets for Pets Hereford, on Wednesday she was released into the sea at Martin’s Haven, Pembrokeshire, to reunite with her suspected colony.

Vet Elliot Goodwin said he was “so proud” to see the puffin back in the wild, after she had been in such a bad way in strange circumstances so far from the coast.

On the journey to Pembrokeshire she was kept in a cardboard carrier box, with an icepack wrapped in a towel to stop her getting too warm.

When they stopped to check on her, “she was nice and lively,” said Jodie Manser, an RSPCA wildlife officer who was involved in the puffin’s return.

To be able to see Oona at the point of release was a “privilege” and it had been “a real learning experience” for everyone, said Mr Goodwin.

It was nice to see her go back out to the wild after having got so lost in the first place, he added.