Bird hitches ride by helicopter

Maximus the Gannet prepares to start his journey with the help of Maggie Sheddan from Scottish Seabird at HMS Gannet in Ayrshire

A seabird chick rescued from an island off the East Lothian coast after it was abandoned by its parents is to be flown by Navy helicopter 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 from the Bass Rock in the Forth.

The bird is to be taken from HMS Gannet in Prestwick to Cornwall where the sea is warmer.

The 14-week-old bird would struggle to survive if released into the North Sea.

Maximus will then be taken to Mousehole Wildlife Bird Sanctuary for a few days to recover from his five hour Sea King flight.

We are sending him out with love and luck as we won't know if he makes it or not unless he is sighted Maggie Sheddan Scottish Seabird Centre Bass Rock guide

After a few days he will then be taken by local fisherman, Nigel Legge, out to sea off the coast of Cornwall.

Scottish Seabird Centre Bass Rock guide Maggie Sheddan said the move would give Maximus "an excellent fighting chance".

Ms Sheddan told the BBC Scotland news website: "I'm really happy, it is absolutely superb of HMS Gannet to do this for Maximus.

"The weather is far too turbulent up here during the winter for him to survive but we have heard there is a warm front passing over Cornwall in the next few days so he will be released then.

"He will not be fed in the morning before his flight because gannets regurgitate when they are frightened but we will be sending him off with a bucket of sardines so that he can be fed by the crew if he becomes more settled during the flight.

Maximus was plucked to safety after being abandoned on Bass Rock

"We are sending him out with love and luck as we won't know if he makes it or not unless he is sighted, as he has been fitted with two red rings to his legs."

The helicopter was due for a high-spec upgrade, where it will be fitted in Cornwall with state-of-the-art infra red cameras to enhance its rescue capability.

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.

Local resident Pat Macaulay has looked after Maximus near its North Berwick base over the past month and said he was now at the 4kg weight to allow him to be released into the sea.

'Absolute first'

It is hoped Maximus finally makes it down to the north west coast of Africa where gannet chicks spend up to three years learning to dive for food.

Lieutenant Commander Bryan Nicholas, Commanding Officer, HMS Gannet, said: "Obviously we would not usually have been able to make this journey, as our duty commitments are in Scotland and it certainly wouldn't have been viable as a training exercise.

"But we are heading off to Culdrose in Cornwall on Wednesday, anyway, so we are only too happy to help out.

"We've carried some unusual loads in our time, but a young gannet is an absolute first and, I daresay, it may be a very long time before we ever do such a thing again - a real one-off.

"We'll make sure that he travels in comfort to Cornwall before passing him over to be released off the coast of Cornwall, where, hopefully, Maximus can get back on his wings, fly further south and soar with his own kind."