A semi-retired wildlife rehabilitator has been working around the clock to nurture and provide care to some of the island’s threatened birds.

Lynn Thorne, who specialises in terrestrial, shore and seabird rescue, said the longtail fledgelings were found at various parts of the island.

Ms Thorne, from Somerset, runs the Somerset Wildlife Rescue Sanctuary.

She has five longtail chicks at the sanctuary and is watching wind conditions, among other factors, before the birds can take their first flight.

Ms Thorne explained that the longtails rehabilitation programme had a success rate of 80 to 85 per cent.

She also provides care to cahow chicks, which are usually rescued from nesting sites, where they are often abandoned by a parent.

The experienced wildlife caretaker said that she worked beyond a regular schedule to care for animals and could be up as early as 2am feeding the cahow chicks.

“I try to recreate what the parents would be doing,” she added.

Cahows and longtails arrive in Bermuda once a year to nest and reproduce.

Ms Thorne explained: “Cahows meet up with their mates late October through November; longtails generally late March through April — uniquely exciting natural events for our tiny island”.

Under the supervision of Jeremy Madeiros, a terrestrial conservation officer at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Ms Thorne has cared for five cahow fledgelings this season.

The birds required rehabilitation because of premature abandonment by the parents.

In one case, she treated a bird for an infected eyelid.

The former animal rehabilitation officer at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, said she was in the “semi-retirement” phase of running the animal rehabilitation programme.

At present, she is concentrating her efforts on rescuing the birds.

Ms Thorne also conducts outreach exercises at schools, where she sometimes takes bird to educate the children.

She has been “passionately involved” in wildlife rehabilitation since her youth.

Ms Thorne said: “My life is basically devoted to animal rehabilitation.”

She said she was lucky to be mentored and sponsored by Catherine Greenleaf, the director of the St Francis Wild Bird Centre in Lyme, New Hampshire, in 2012 and 2013, where she completed level 2 of the seabird rehabilitation course.

Ms Thorne also went to Trinidad and Tobago in 2013 for training at the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation.

She studied additional courses with the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and “gained valuable experience and knowledge” over the years working with members of the Bermuda government’s Conservation Services, which amalgamated with the environmental protection department to become the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Ms Thorne highlighted the experience she gained from working with Andrew Pettit, the director of the DENR, Mark Outerbridge, a wildlife ecologist and Mr Madeiros.

She said there were many challenges in the field, including not knowing what to expect when she was first alerted to a bird in distress.

Ms Thorne said wildlife rehabilitation “generally centres around fledgelings of all sorts from shore and seabirds to local forest and migratory individuals plus those compromised from tropical storms or hurricanes”.

She noted that some birds “also arrive exhausted during migration periods, where they often use up the last bit of energy they have left and weigh in at half their normal body weight”.

Ms Thorne explained: “These are the really challenging ones, initially clinically requiring electrolyte fluids, warmed, as part of the triage process to treat dehydration first, thus enabling them to digest small amounts of food cautiously offered in the beginning to bring their weight back to where it should be.”

She said that working with wildlife was “a labour of love, often requiring the willingness to put in long hours and 24/7 attention to try and replicate their needs as closely as possible”.

Ms Thorne said working collaboratively with colleagues, citizen scientists and with help from the community — notably Gertraud Gierlinger, whose speciality is in bluebird rehabilitation — “is a very important and invaluable part of the process for a positive outcome”.

“I have managed to maintain a high success rate as a result,” she added.

Ms Thorne advised that when a bird was found in trouble, it should first be carefully placed in a box or enclosure, covered and put in a warm place, which is dark and quiet.

She said: “Birds have an average body temperature of 105.5F [40.8C] and can go into shock even in warm weather.”

She added: “Birds may sometimes look alert. However, what they are trying to do is appear normal to a potential predator.”

Ms Thorne said when a bird in distress was found, a qualified rehabilitator should be contacted so that they could provide an evaluation.

She added: “Do not feed or attempt to provide water.

“Cold fluids and food: too much, too soon will have sad results.”