A MENAGERIE OF WAYWARD BIRDS VII

This one takes place right after the second season episode 'Hi-Fi Gilligan' right after Gilligan finds the flamingos.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1965

After Gilligan had gotten Pinkerton and Rose settled at the lagoon he decided to go back to the beach to continue fishing. He was about to cast his line yet again when he heard a high pitched moaning whistle from behind him. He turned around and saw what looked like a small black seagull. He recognized it as a black-footed albatross.

"Hey there little guy do you need help?" He asked knowing the answer.

The albatross seemed to nod then took off flying in the other direction. A minute later the albatross lead him half a mile up the beach where they came upon several other albatrosses. There were a few other black ones and several others that had the same coloring as a seagull.

"Okay who's hurt?" Gilligan asked looking everyone over.

The albatross who lead him there along with the others gesture to one of the seagull looking ones on the ground. He kneeled down and immediately saw that she had the same problem as Pinkerton. She looked up at the black albatross and they nuzzled with each other.

"Alright Coleridge let's bring Marina back to camp!" Gilligan replied.

Before he could pick Marina up another albatross whinnied and pointed behind them at something black and white. At first it looked like Petey or Penny the penguins but it had a orange, red, and grey beak. Gilligan recognized it as a puffin.

"Hey little guy I mean girl," Gilligan began as Coleridge pinched him. "What's wrong?"

The puffin stood up and extended one of her legs. The leg appeared to be bent at an odd angle.

"Oh boy!" Gilligan replied as he picked up Marina. "Come on Nova your coming back to camp with us too!"

0o0o0o0o

Back at camp the Skipper and the Professor sat at the table. The Professor was looking at his watch while the Skipper was counting down under his breath. Then a black albatross flew down and landed on the table.

"Well hello how may I help you?" The Professor asked as the others chuckled.

"That's Coleridge and his mate Marina has the same condition Pinkerton does!" Gilligan replied as he put Marina in front of the Professor and cradled Nova. "And then Nova has a broken leg!"

"Awe is that a baby penguin!" Mrs. Howell asked looking through her lorgnette.

"No I believe that is a toucan!" Mr. Howell replied as he put on his glasses.

"No that is a puffin!" The Skipper replied as another puffin flew into camp and landed on Gilligan's shoulder. "And who is that?"

"Nova's mate Scott!" Gilligan replied as the girls started on Marina's wing.

"Of course it is!" The Skipper replied rolling his eyes as the Professor looked at Nova's leg.

"Honestly it's beginning to look like Noah's Ark around here!" Mr. Howell muttered under his breath.

"So Gilligan why Coleridge and Marina?" Mary Ann asked as they finished with Marina.

"Well Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote my favorite poem 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and it seemed to fit them!" Gilligan replied as he patted Coleridge.

"And why Nova and Scott?" The Professor asked as he made a splint for Nova.

"My sister had her wedding in Nova Scotia and I saw puffins at one of the parks we visited!" Gilligan replied as he stroked Scott's head.

"Okay so," the Professor began as he finished with Nova and looked at Marina. "Like with Pinkerton Marina should be well in a month or so. As for Nova as long as we keep her comfortable she'll heal in a few weeks!"

"Thank you Professor!" Gilligan replied as he cradled Nova.

"Is there anyone else that needs my attention?" The Professor asked.

"Is there Coleridge?" Gilligan asked and Coleridge shook his head. "All set!"

Gilligan got Marina settled into a nest and had Eugene and Iona keep her company. Then got a little basket and made a little nest inside to put Nova in and placed her in a dark corner of the supply hut and covered the basket with a small cloth so she could get some sleep.

"Okay so I'm going to go back to the beach to try to fish again!" Gilligan replied as he was leaving.

"How much do you want to bet that he'll be back with something else!" Mr. Howell whispered to the Skipper.

A/N: There are about 21 species of albatrosses. The two that I described in this chapter are the Laysan and the Black-footed.

The Laysan has the same coloring as a seagull and it has a pink bill with a black tip. They are known to be the longest living birds. The oldest on record is a female named Wisdom. They mate for life and females will bond and raise their chicks together. Their nesting sites are spread out throughout the North Pacific.

The Black-footed are almost black with white marking below the eye and around the base of the bill. They are mostly found around the Northern Hawaiian Islands.

Their are four different species of puffins. The one that I described in this chapter is Atlantic puffin.

They are about a foot tall and have a sturdy build with short wings and tail. The top of the head and back are a glossy back, the chest and stomach are white. They have a broad triangular beak that is grey at the base and orange red at the tip and bright orange webbed feet.

They range across the North Atlantic Ocean with the largest colony being on Iceland. They spend most of the year in the open ocean and come to land to breed in large colonies.

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