RSPCA save baby seagull from Newcastle tall building

A young gull trapped on a high building at Hartlepool was reunited with his mother after an RSPCA rescue.

The bird was stuck in a narrow gap between a third-storey apartment and pillars fronting the rooftop of Park Tower in Park Road in Newcastle. The distressed young bird had been trapped for two days and a resident, who had been feeding him, contacted the animal charity.

After getting permission from the property owner, RSPCA inspector Krissy Raine demonstrated her head for heights as she climbed up on a ladder and reached the bird, pulling him clear with a rescue net and pole on July 21.

Krissy said: “This poor gull was in a really difficult position to reach as he had dropped down a v-shaped gap on the rooftop.

“The windows of the flat next to it are grilled off and while that was the best route of access we weren’t able to remove them because the building is listed.

“So we put some ladders up around the back of the building and I climbed up that way. While I was reaching out to the gull, I attracted the attention of the parents and they weren’t that happy to see me. They were dive bombing me!

“But I managed to hook the young one in my net. He was fine and I was soon able to release him and he was off in the air with his mother.”

The inspector says it is not the first time that birds have been trapped at this location. The RSPCA regularly deals with reports of wildlife trapped on hard-to-access tall buildings and those that have had bird deterrent netting installed.

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In recent weeks the charity’s rescuers have been busy freeing birds from netting at several high spots around the North East.

A gull was spotted hanging upside down from the roof of the Asda store in Coronation Street in South Shields after his legs got caught up in netting. Inspector Helen Nedley received assistance from fire and rescue officers, who accessed the roof space, where they also found a fledgling caught in the same netting on July 27. Both birds were taken to local animal rescue Pawz for Thought for rehabilitation.

Again with the help of the fire and rescue service, inspector Nedley rescued a kittiwake stranded in netting placed high on a building in Sandhill at Newcastle on August 5.