A large seabird, more used to the big blue ocean than wide green paddocks, ended up on a Waverley farm at the weekend.
Most likely blown inland by the foul weather last week, the white capped mollymawk is reasonably rare, said Department of Conversation Whanganui biodiversity programme manager Jim Campbell.
The bird was reported to DoC and they searched for it on Monday night. "We went out to try and find it last night but it had flown the coop" Mr Campbell said yesterday.
"It's rare to get something like this that far inland. It was probably a little bit storm battered and needing a rest, waiting for the energy to get up and go.
"We expected it to be still there but it had gone."