Some of the seabirds washed up on the Dorset coast have been released back into the wild today.
They were found covered in an oil-type substance last month and have been looked after at the RSPCA centre in West Hatch in Somerset.
They were released from a clifftop on Portland.
Laura Makin-Isherwood reports:
Scientists believe they've finally identified the mystery substance which was found on hundreds of birds washed up along the South West coast.
Many of them were taken to a rescue centre in Somerset where volunteers have spent almost a week trying to save them.
Tamsin Eames reports:
Experts have identified the chemical which has caused a pollution incident off the South West coast. It's an oil additive, known as polyisobutene. Meanwhile the RSPCA Wildlife Centre in West Hatch is continuing to deal with birds caught up in the spill. Watch Caron Bell's report.
A change in wind direction could have killed thousands more birds after scores were found washed ashore along England's south coast.
Read the full storyThe RSPB says around 400 birds in total have been rescued from along the south coast but experts are still trying to detmenine exactly what caused the pollution incident.
The charity says it highlights the need for sea birds to be given formal protection in marine conservation zones. Richard lawrence reports.
Increasing numbers of stricken birds are washing up on the south west coast after being covered in a mysterious substance.
Experts are no closer to discovering the cause of the damage, which has seen more than 100 seabirds taken into care at the RSPCA West Hatch wildlife centre in Taunton.
Most of the birds were found in Dorset, but one bird was found alive as far as Worthing in west Sussex.
Around 200 miles of the English coastline is being investigated. The Environment Agency has taken samples of the water for testing.
An investigation is continuing into how more than a hundred birds came to be covered in a mysterious sticky substance on a 200-mile stretch of coastline in Dorset.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) were called to the south coast yesterday after the troubled guillemots, a member of the auk family, were discovered on Lyme Bay near Weymouth.
Environment Agency staff have taken samples of the affected water in an attempt to discover what the mysterious substance is.
The seabirds have been taken to West Hatch Animal Centre in Taunton, Somerset.
The cold weather may well be the best thing possible for a special survey being carried out this weekend. Snow on the ground is likely to drive birds into people's gardens looking for food.
Which will be great for the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch which is taking place on Saturday and Sunday, as Jacquie Bird reports.
