Imagine looking out your window and having a huge vulture peering into your home from the patio.

That's exactly what happened in the unlikely location of Seasalter after the magnificent bird escaped from its base in Essex.

The lost palm-nut vulture - a species native to Africa which also goes by the name of a vulturine fish eagle - had been missing for a number of days before rocking up in the garden outside Whitstable.

Injured after being attacked by seagulls, the bird of prey was in need of rescuing.

The Wildwood Trust was alerted to the stray creature and Mark Habben, the park's director of zoo operations, ventured out to the coast to catch the vulture.

"It was very unusual," Mark said.

"I do get quite a lot of call-outs to recover birds of prey, but normally it would be your native species like buzzard, kestrel or sparrowhawk.

"So I couldn't believe it when it was a palm-nut vulture.

"It had got out of a private collection in Essex and had just been flying around as it came across the sea to Kent.

"The gulls had mobbed it and attacked it as that's what they do.

"The person who lived at the house in Seasalter was able to protect it, and then we were alerted and I went out.

"It was certainly an interesting day, and in all these years, I can definitely say I've never had to rescue a palm-nut vulture."

Catching the adventurous bird proved a simple task and it was taken into safety.

After spending the night at Wildwood and being fed and watered, the vulture was returned to the private collection in Chelmsford, where it had escaped from.

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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