Garston business owner Robert Durling said it was like a scene out of a horror movie when dozens of muttonbirds started crashing into his roof and nearby trees on Wednesday night.
It is believed they were fledglings, migrating to the northern hemisphere, but were blown off course and exhausted by freezing gale-force winds over the country.
"It was about 9pm and it was snowing. We heard a thump on the roof and we just thought it was a possum or a big clump of snow.
"Then we heard another one, so I went out to have a look, but I couldn’t see anything.
"Then all of a sudden, I saw this odd-looking bird on the lawn, and then I saw two or three of them, and then another one crashed into the tree beside us, and they kept hitting the roof for ages.
"To be fair, it was really weird — a bit like a horror film, to be honest.
"I’ve never seen birds flying at night like that, and to have them crashing in, it was a bit like the Hitchcock film The Birds."
Mr Durling and his wife Kylie Sutton started collecting the birds and putting them in a sheltered place.
The next morning, Mrs Sutton went to work in Garston and phoned him to say there were lots more of the birds in the car park there.
"We were finding them behind split logs, wheelie bins, against buildings and under stairs.
"But you could see from the tracks in the snow that a lot of the others had wandered off to burrow into the ground somewhere — that’s what they do."
He said he and a group of friends spent most of yesterday picking up more than 50 muttonbirds in the area.
"Fingers crossed, they survive."
There have been reports of others being found in Kingston, Queenstown and Central Otago.
Department of Conservation biodiversity ranger Lance Hay said staff helped collect about 80 muttonbirds in the Athol region yesterday.
"These young birds can get caught out as they don’t yet have the strength or experience to navigate rough windy weather.
"This means they land, or crash-land, in all sorts of unexpected places — like inland farms, to rest and recuperate.
"Because they are seabirds, they do have trouble taking flight again once inland."
He said if people came across a misplaced seabird in their backyard, and they felt confident, they could transport them carefully to a beach where the necessary lift provided by the sea breeze would help them on their way.
An Avian Rescue Otago spokeswoman said if anyone found a muttonbird, they could take it to the Queenstown Kiwi Birdlife Park or contact Avian Rescue Otago.
