Bird in peril? Altrad’s offshore team to the rescue!

On the Serica Bruce platform located in the North Sea, Scotland, Sean Hellstrom, a Deck Foreman, was loading a container of scaffold fittings to return onshore when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye whizzing about the container. Upon further inspection, he noticed it was a small bird that was running around the container in some distress. With the aid of his team and some soft spill mats, they managed to catch the bird.

Some detective work soon found it to be a Water Rail far away from its natural wetland habitat. A Water Rail is a small, secretive bird that lives in reedbeds and freshwater wetlands and is a protected species in Scotland.

Along with the Bruce Heli-admin on the platform, they contacted the Scottish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) and organised returning the bird to Aberdeen. They also took advice on what to feed it, and it turned its nose/beak up to all offers apart from Weetabix!

The bird stayed on Bruce for 5 days and was named Wendy by the team. Wendy was flown in by the regular crew change helicopter (no survival suit small enough was located, so she was carefully placed in a box!). Sean was the Helicopter Landing Officer, so he ensured she was safely stowed away onboard.

Upon arrival in Aberdeen, she was given a quick health check and has been released back into the wilds of Aberdeenshire.

Well done to our team at Serica Bruce for showing care and attention to ensure Wendy made it back to her natural habitat. This is a great example of our people’s compassion!