Pied wagtail in Tesco store given last minute reprieve from the firing squad

A bird that made its home in a Great Yarmouth supermarket has been given a last-minute reprieve after the store threatened to shoot it, reports the Great Yarmouth Mercury.

Tesco had considered bringing in marksmen to kill the pied wagtail in its Great Yarmouth branch, but have now announced that it will continue attempting to capture and release the bird, possibly with help with the British Trust for Ornithology.

The bird has been flitting around the store for some time, and has become known to customers.

A Tesco spokesman said: “Our goal is always to release any birds which have found their way into our stores, while ensuring we maintain our high standards of hygiene.

“In spite of repeated efforts to free the bird, including laying down traps, deploying nets and opening windows, we have been unsuccessful so far.”

The supermarket chain was granted a licence by Natural England to remove the bird by shooting it, on the grounds of protecting public health.

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Wagtails showing signs of being in trouble in the UK

The diminutive yellow wagtail brightens up our rivers in summer

The latest Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) annual report, published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), shows that all three UK breeding wagtail species are in long-term decline.

However, the reasons behind these trends are not clear. Our three wagtail species are: yellow wagtail, a farmland bird that migrates to sub-Saharan Africa, grey wagtail and pied wagtail, both of which remain largely in the UK over the winter.

Importantly, the races of both pied and yellow wagtails breeding in the UK nest almost nowhere else in the world. 

Yellow wagtails are in severe decline, as the latest BBS figures reveal a 43 per cent reduction between 1995 and 2012.

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