A seagull found trapped in a bin has now been tracked to the beaches of Morocco following treatment at Scotland’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre.

Staff at the facility in Fishcross, near Alloa, said it was “incredible” to hear the progress of the lesser black-backed gull, which has been named Gulliver, more than six months after being released.

The bird spent two weeks at the centre having been taken there last May after being freed from the bin in Paisley, near Glasgow, by a Scottish SPCA officer.

Lost weight

At the time, Gulliver was found to weigh around 20% less than normal and was said to be in a “distressed and dishevelled” state.

On release, metal and plastic rings were fitted in the hope of tracking Gulliver’s progress and a birdwatcher tracked the gull to the Agadir Beach on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. The equivalent route by road would cover around 2,500 miles.

Senior vet Liam Reid said: “It was incredible to find out Gulliver was doing so well nearly 200 days after his release.

“Where possible we ring birds prior to release. This gives us a passive form of post-release monitoring and we get a lot of good data back from this.”

Lasting difference

He added: “The success of Gulliver’s rehabilitation and release clearly shows the long-term effects of our hard work and that what we do makes a lasting difference to these animals.

“It’s so uplifting to see the animals we release back into the wild can go on to not just survive but thrive and in Gulliver’s case migrate as normal.”

Gulliver is one of more than 2,500 animals which were supported back into the wild by the SSPCA during 2024.