text: A canal bank beneath a busy flyover might not rank as paradise. But for this puzzled puffin – apparently suffering a navigation malfunction and pining for the Atlantic – it was welcome sanctuary. The confused bird was seen swimming in the Grand Union canal earlier this month after apparently flying into London along the Thames. This puzzled puffin was spotted flying into London along the Thames, close to the A4 flyover at Brentford . The distinctive bird with an orange beak was spotted by an eagle-eyed canal boat resident. The puffin was given some fish and wrapped in a blanket, before being handed to a specialist centre  in Dorset to recuperate . More commonly seen in Iceland and the North Atlantic, it was spotted near the A4 flyover at Brentford. Its holiday came to an end when a canal-boat resident caught sight of its distinctive beak and alerted the appropriate authorities. Steve Knight, of the Swan Sanctuary in nearby Shepperton, caught the bird, which has now been handed over to a specialist centre in Dorset, where he is being nursed back to full health. ‘I’ve never rescued a puffin before but these birds dive very quickly so you’ve got to be quick about it,’ he said.‘ . 'All he knew about it was a big net coming over him and that was it. He looked pretty exhausted and hungry, and he seemed to have lost weight. The puffin was spotted swimming in the Grand Union Canal (left) while the species normally reside in Iceland . 'I gather they normally eat sand eels but there aren’t too many of them in the Grand Union, so we gave him some whitebait.’ Sanctuary founder Dot Beeson added she believes the puffin got lost or was blown off course by recent winds.
target: Bird was spotted near the A4 flyover at Brentford after flying along Thames .
  Eagle-eyed canal boat resident saw the puffin and contacted rescue agency .
  Puffins most commonly found in Iceland, but this bird 'blown off course'