We have been wary of taking in seabirds owing to the large numbers of dead and dying birds found near breeding colonies.

As the young birds are dispersing now we hope that soon this worry will be over.

On Saturday we got a call from our friend  who lives at Kinlochard. His wife had been for a walk in the woods, and the last thing he expected was for her to arrive home with a young gannet tucked under her arm.

If you remember, there was a lot of rain that day. Aberfoyle was flooded and the supermarket closed. There was no way out of Kinlochard.

Brian made the gannet comfortable in a large cardboard box on a layer of towels, and left it in his shed for the night.

Next day, Brian and Sheila used forest roads to get out of the village, but had to divert via Stirling to reach Hessilhead. We transferred the box to our vehicle and set off for Stevenson Point.

When young gannets leave their nests they are on their own. No more breakfast, lunch and tea provided by doting parents. The gannets must learn to catch their own food.

At Stevenson Point the gannet stood and slowly looked around. We could see his brain working as he looked up the coat and down the coast, over to Arran and round the car park.

After a couple of trial wing flaps he took to the air and was last seen flying strongly over the estuary.