PREVIEW

A lost puffin found more than 100 miles off course in a garden in Herefordshire has been returned to his natural habitat off the Welsh coast.

The wayward seabird, named Oona by vets, was nearly half her species’ usual weight when she was discovered in Stoke Lacey near Hereford in late June.

After several weeks in the care of Vets for Pets Hereford, on Wednesday (17Jul2025) she was finally released into the sea at Martin's Haven, Pembrokeshire - and took to the waves like, well, a puffin to water. It is hoped she will now rejoin what’s likely to be her colony.

The vets were initially sceptical when they received the call about Ooona, with Hereford being landlocked and 110 miles from the nearest coast, as the puffin flies. But quickly used their expertise to discern Oona was in fact a puffin.

“We were surprised, to say the least,” said Head Vet Dr. Elliot Goodwin. “Puffins never venture this far inland unless they’re disoriented or have been blown off course. It’s likely she was returning to her nesting site in West Wales and lost her way.”

They believe Oona may have travelled from Skomer Island or Skokholm, both off the coast of Pembrokeshire before taking a wrong turn
Upon arrival, Oona was weak and underweight.

The team, led by nutrition expert and Head Nurse Becky Bridges, administered a specialised formula designed for fish-eating birds, to get the wind back beneath Oona's wings.

Vet Elliot added, “It was a full team effort, from diagnosis to feeding and nutrition, everyone brought their expertise to the table. Even after owning my practice for eight years and treating many exotics before including, lynx, meerkats and goshawks, this was our first puffin.”
However, after nursing Ooona back to health she has now been transported back to the Welsh coast - where her favourite food of fish are rather more plentiful than in the West Midlands.

On the journey back to Pembrokeshire, where she was released by the RSPCA after additional rehab, she was kept in a cardboard carrier box, with an icepack wrapped in a towel to stop her getting too warm.

Happily and to the delight of all she is now back on the sea - where she belongs.