Soldiers rescue barn owl 70 miles off coast

An Army crew rescued a barn owl 70 miles off the coast of Tynesideduring a yachting race.

The bird, which they called Little Reg, collapsed on to the boat’s deck on Wednesday.

The soldiers fed the owl and made it a makeshift bed for the night, caring for it for 24 hours before a lifeboat crew met the racers off the Norfolk coast and took the bird ashore.

Reg was named after a determined crew member in the regiment of Sgt Mark Petheridge, because it “refused to give up”, said the Royal Ocean Racing Club, which is running the Round Britain and Ireland Race.

The owl ​tumbled from the mast into the sea three times before finally landing on the deck, where it was wrapped in a towel.

“We thought we’d lost her, ​but she kept fighting her way back up and to the boat,” said ​Sgt Petherbridge.

“We have an extra crew member ​for the latter parts of the race: an exhausted barn owl ‌that we are nursing back to health,” skipper Will Naylor told race officials.

“It’s currently sleeping soundly and recovering. Noting we should finish with the same number of crew as started, someone is going to have to walk the plank!”

The sailing crew on the Fujitsu British Soldier contacted the Barn Owl Trust, which rang Dan Goldsmith, of Marine and Wildlife Rescue.

Mr Goldsmith told The Telegraph: “Everyone was so amazing – we get a real variety of animal jobs, but this one stands out.

“We were contacted by the Barn Owl Trust, who asked if we knew anybody with a boat. I got in touch with Caister Lifeboat – they’ve helped us out a few times before, mostly seal-related – and they said immediately they could help.”

The process took strict coordination so as not to slow down the racing boat – made more complex because the racers were travelling faster than they predicted, Mr Goldsmith said.

The lifeboat met the soldiers off the Norfolk coast and took the bird, which was then passed to the rescue service on the shore.

Reg is now with RSPCA Scarborough and is well on its way to recovery, Mr Goldsmith said.

He added: “Barn owls don’t migrate, so there’s no reason they should be over the sea. They are not well adapted for wet weather – they are light and can be taken off course by blustery winds, and the water can get in their wings and weigh them down. It was very lucky.”

The soldiers are continuing the 1,805-nautical-mile circumnavigation.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]