Northern Bald Ibis in Stretford - How Bizarre!

Originally spotted at the Stretford Mall in the car park on 19th July and various sightings report previous to that. It was caught on the 20th and reported to Chester Zoo, the rest of the story is HERE. All I can say is that it is now doing very well at Chester Zoo, see below..

A couple photo's I took on my phone, from here it flew off when the person got too close up towards Edge Lane.

 Chester Zoo Curator of birds, Andrew Owen, said: “We’re pleased to report that after some TLC from our bird keepers and vets the northern bald ibis is now getting on really, really well.

“As for where it came from, the quest continues. It doesn’t have a microchip and the number on its leg ring doesn’t tally with any of the birds on the database, which lists all of the individuals kept by zoos.

 “The species is able to fly great distances though so it is possible that it may have traveled here from a zoo in Europe. We’ll keep making enquiries and will contact the studbook keeper and try to get to the bottom of it.

“In the meantime our teams will continue to give it lots of care and attention here in our quarantine facilities.

“The northern bald ibis is critically endangered and our birds are part of a breeding programme working to save the species from extinction. So if we can’t locate its origin we’ll be happy to welcome it into our group once it has cleared quarantine.”