Maximus waits for warm sea flight

Maximus had not eaten for about five days when he was rescued

Carers of a seabird chick rescued off the Bass Rock in the Forth because it was starving to death are still hoping he can be flown to warmer seas.

Maximus the gannet set a UK record for the latest chick ever recorded when he was plucked to safety on 4 December.

Scottish Seabird Centre Bass Rock guide Maggie Sheddan said she hoped Maximus could be flown to Gibraltar.

She said his chances of getting calm waters to learn how to fish were lower if he was released in the North Sea.

Ms Sheddan told the BBC Scotland news website: "Maximus is nearly at four kilograms which means he needs to be released soon as that is the weight they need to be to have a layer of fat to survive the first few days while they sit in the water learning to fish.

This is his best chance of survival as otherwise if we release him into the North Sea he could be battered about and he would have no chance to learn to fish Maggie Sheddan RAF Ornithological Society

"At this point they are flightless but after a few days they have learned the basics of fishing and have lost enough weight to fly.

"For the first three years of a gannet's life it is based off the west coast of Africa where it forms groups with other gannets and they all learn to fish and dive, so its a bit like school.

"The parents don't teach them so Maximus would be fine if he was released off the coast of Gibraltar on his own and then he could sit out there where the weather is better before eventually finding other gannets.

"This is his best chance of survival as otherwise if we release him into the North Sea he could be battered about and he would have no chance to learn to fish."

Maximus' parents had been feeding him twice a day up until five days before he was rescued when they gave up as he had been born so late in the season the weather was becoming too bad for him to be looked after.

He has been hand-reared by a gannet expert in East Lothian since he was rescued.

Ms Sheddan said she was examining ways of getting Maximus to Gibraltar.

She said one option could be a scheduled flight or even a military plane.

If Maximus is not taken to Gibraltar by the new year he will need to be released in the North Sea.

"We will wait for a good weather window," Ms Sheddan said.

"We will try to get a settled spell. Because he needs to be able to learn how to fish."