Mollymawk Rescued from Hutt City Car Park in Wellington Storm

Nyssa Skorji
May 4
2 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Wellington storms have a way of delivering the unexpected - and this week was no exception. A gorgeous mollymawk (white-capped albatross) ended up stranded in a Hutt City car park after being blown off course.

The Rescue

Our volunteers got the call after dark and headed out to collect him. Mollymawks are open-ocean birds - they spend most of their lives at sea and are completely out of their element on land. This one was exhausted and grounded, unable to take off from a flat surface without wind and a runway.

Who To Call for Seabirds

For seabirds like mollymawks, Tony Stoddard from Kereru Discovery is the first call. Tony holds a DOC holding and transport permit and can pick up and transport seabirds directly to The Nest Te Kohanga at Wellington Zoo for specialist care. We coordinated with Tony to get this bird the right help fast.

What To Do If You Find a Seabird

If you find a seabird on land in Wellington, keep it contained and dark, do not put it in water, and contact us immediately. Do not attempt to release it yourself - seabirds need to be launched from a suitable coastal location by someone who knows what they are doing.

This was genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime rescue for our team. What an incredible bird.

Support Flock Birdcare Wellington - we are a volunteer-run charitable trust and every donation goes directly to patient care. Visit https://www.flockwellington.com/donate to make a one-off or monthly contribution. Every feathered friend we release is thanks to people like you.