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| 1st July 2007 | I got your number from a hedgehog. |
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It has been so busy for the last few weeks that we have hardly had time to keep up with the work. We have 40 fox cubs, 33 tawny owls, 5 badger cubs, 5 deer fawns, 200 ducklings and have reared hundreds of garden birds. But today's good news couldn't go without a mention. The phone call started with the unlikely opening, 'I got your number from a hedgehog'. It was true. The caller had spotted one of the Uist hedgehogs, wearing its identification tag. Each tag carries our phone number, as well as an indentification number for the hedgehog. The really good news is that this hedgehog has 4 well grown babies, and Mum and babies all look good. Transporting 241 hedgehogs from the mainland and relocating them on the mainland was time consuming and expensive. It was worth all the effort with news like that! |
| 4th June 2007 | Never a spare moment |
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| Casualties are arriving fast. Most days bring more than 20 new patients, today nearly 40. Young crows, tits, wrens, and blackbirds are the most frequent arrivals, but over the last few days we have taken in 6 shelducklings, 2 cygnets, a roe deer fawn and the first of the gull chicks. This evening a female hedgehog arrived with four 10 day old babies. That was in addition to the last 12 hedgehogs to be evicted from the Uists this summer; they went straight out to release sites. I am not too happy with the buzzard that came in on Saturday. Our first concern was his poor body condition. Now he is gaining a little weight, but his behaviour is odd. We suspect there may be some brain damage. The peregrine will move to an aviary tomorrow, and the little hand reared stoat should move outside too. A clutch of 12 ducklings was rescued from a deep sided treatment pool at a landfill site today, and tawny owl chcik number 12 came in. So you see we don't have much spare time! |
| 5th May 2007 | Owls |
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There was good news for 2 adult tawny owls today. One of them has been in care for several weeks, and for a while was totally blind. Even so, after recovering from concussion, it learnt to feed itself in a cage. It was always easy to get hold of, as it didn't see a hand approach, but would jump when touched. We were beginning to lose hope that the owl would recovery, then during one of the regular testing sessions we found it could see with one eye. That encouraged us to move the owl outside, and it soon found the high perches, and located food left in different places. Today we tested it again, and are pretty sure that it now has good vision. It will return to its own territory. Another tawny owl, a small male, has made a fast recovery from a collision with a car. It will soon be back to help feed its family. It is almost 2 weeks since we collected a barn owl from Barrhill, in South Ayrshire. The owl had been found in the forest by some marines on an excercise, and they had left the owl at the village shop. The owl was thin, and had a severe injury to the back of its head, and also a lot of inflammation in its throat. It was a tricky patient for the first few days. We gave it fluids first, and then fed it tiny pieces of meat every two hours throughout the day. Sometimes it swallowed the food more easily than other times. Sometimes it looked like it would die. now it is feeding well, and almost fit enough for release. The trouble is we don't know exactly where the owl was found. As it happened, more marines came into the shop whilUse of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at /home/.sites/28/site163/web/hessilhead/cgi-bin/diary.pl line 43. e I was examining the owl. They knew the person who had found the owl, and promised they would phone me with details of where it was found. I expalined it was really important to return the owl to its own territory, and was sure they would contact me. So far we have heard nothing, but I'm still hoping. The owl has made such good progress we would really like to take her home. A young tawny owl was brought in today. It was found under a car at Wemyss Bay Railway Station, and although staff knew where the nest was, it was impossible to put the owl back. In any case the nest is inside the station, above the platform. Next time the chick came out the nest, it could land on the track. It isn't the best nest site to choose. |
| 4th May 2007 | Starlings |
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| There has been an influx of starling chicks at Hessilhead. I think the total so far is 22. All have been removed from roof spaces by house owners who were having their roofs repaired, or just didn't like having the chicks there. You can probably imagine that rearing chicks from a few days old is a lot of work, and fairly costly. Feeding starts at 7am each morning, and finishes about 10.30 at night. The chicks are fed approximately every half hour. Of course there are lots of other youngsters to care for too. Once the chicks fledge (in 7 to 10 days) they will move to cages. First they will learn to perch, then to drink, and after a week or so to pick up food for themselves. When feeding confidently they will move to an aviary, and be released a couple of weeks after that. The aviary will be left open for two more weeks so the youngsters can come back for food. If the chicks had been left in their nests for their parents to rear, they would fledge in 7 to 10 days and have their parents to show them how to survive in the wild. The roofs could have been repaired then, and Hessilhead would be a much quieter place. |
| 28th May 2007 | Buzzard and Peregrine |
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| Its mostly juveniles that we admit at this time of year, but we've had a couple of surprises yesterday and today. A buzzard was brought in yesterday, found by a shooter while out shooting. The buzzard has an injured leg, and more injuries in its mouth and above its eye, but we expect it to make a full recovery. Today we admitted a female peregrine, a particularly bad tempered one. She has an injured wing, that is now strapped up, and we are hopeful of a full recovery for her too. |
| 27th May 2007 | Growing Up |
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| 15th May 2007 | Swift |
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There is always something to delight us at Hessilhead. Yesterday we had a call about an injured bird in West Lothian, which is quite a long way from here. The people who had the bird couldn't fetch it, but luckily two of our regular helpers who responded straight away, and the bird was here an hour and a half later. At first glance the bird didn't look good. It was lying in the box, wings stretched and eyes closed. Not usually a god sign for a bird. But this was a swift, and swifts don't sit up straight. If they cannot grip onto a vertical surface, the spread eagle on the ground. We checked the wings, no problem, and checked the strange little legs, no problem there either. We gave the bird fluids by crop tube, made a different arrangement in its sleeping box, allowing it to adopt a more comfortable position, and left it for the night. This morning it was given more fluids, and was looking brighter. By late morning the weather was great, and we decided to try launching the swift. Several of us went up the field to watch, but when Andy held the bird on his outstratched hand nothing happened. There was not a breath of wind, and therefore it was difficult for the bird to get lift. The next tactic was to throw the bird. You have to be pretty sure that the bird is fit to try this one, and we always try it in a grass field, so in case of failure, the bird has a soft landing. Andy threw the swift and it just kept going, wings took over and within a few beats the bird was climbing and even dashing after insects. We don't know why the bird was down on the ground, it had possible clipped wires. The trouble with swifts is that once on the ground they are stuck. They have very long wings and very short legs, and cannot run or flap enough for take off. So a swift on the ground needs a helping hand to get airbourne. This was a short stay patient, and a delight to see it back its own element. |
| 11th May 2007 | Home from Uists |
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Andy and I have just returned from a trip to the Uists to collect more hedgehogs. There were only 16 to come back today, but the total for this year so far is 206. We took an extra day for the trip to enjoy the peace and quietness of South Uist, and to watch some healthy wildlife too. We spent all of Wednesday on a white sandy beach, watching Great Northern and Black throated divers, terns, waders, hen harrier and arctic skua. You can imagine that it was difficult returning home! In the hospital there are lots of changes. The half naked starling chicks have fledged, some of the blackbirds are ready for the aviary, the pine marten has become more independent, there is a new badger cub, its fractured leg splinted, there are several more fox cubs, which makes me think this might be a record fox cub year, and lots of baby rabbits. One of the fox cubs required rescuing from a basement beneath a Glasgow tenement. We heard the rescue was in progress while we were away. We were confident that the rescue team, Shelby and Leianne would be successful, and we are pleased to see that the cub is doing well. |
| 6th April 2007 | otter |
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| We got an otter week ago tomorrow. She is probably between 6 and 8 months old, is very thin and was found in a sewer. She has been quite friendly all week, coming out when anyone went to her enclosure, approaching closely and sniffing feet. No-one has spoken to her or encouraged her to be like this. We assume it is because she has been so hungry for a long time. She seemed desperate for all the food she could get, even though she must have eaten all she needed. Today was different. The otter stayed in her sleeping box in all day, and eventually I was so puzzled that I lifted the roof and peeped inside. She looked up and backed into a corner, reluctant to be seen. She is reverting to natural behaviour, a sign that she is feeling satisfied now. Hopefully she will gain weight and be ready for release later in summer. |
| 28th April 2007 | I'm a carnivore! |
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Today we decided to try the baby stoat and pine marten with meat. The stoat was first, and did she get excited? She grabbed the chick liver between her front feet and started eating. But she is still young; her eyes aren't even open yet and her co-ordination really poor. So unable to remain in one position, and she spiralled and tumbled round her cage, never letting go of her meat and chomping all the time.She finished the meat but had got herself into a bit of a mess, blood stained legs and chest and tummy. She began cleaning herself, with almost as much enthusiasm as she had when eating, and after ten minutes she was spotless, satiated and sound asleep. The pine marten was less enthusiastic, ate more slowly but still enjoyed the change of diet. From now on they will both be on 2 milk feeds a day, instead of four, with meaty meals in between. Earlier today I was watching the badger cubs eating. There was nothing genteel about their manners. With gusto both cubs dived into the dish, elbows and rumps were used to try and keep the other cub away, and as some meat was scooped into mouths, more of it was pushed out of the dish and trampled. I've noticed before that badgers can't eat from a dish without getting half way through, then pushing their noses beneath the dish and flipping it over. I suppose its the technique they use for finding beetles under cow pats. For a while their feeding place looks really messy. but eventually all is hoovered up, and the cubs disappear beneath a pile of straw. Its always fascinating to see such youngsters instinctively using behaviour that will help them to survive in the wild. |
| 27th April 2007 | Growing Up |
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| The hard work of the past few weeks is paying off now, with many of the hand reared youngsters living outside, some of them getting ready for release. There are 32 fox cubs at the centre now, all living in family sized groups and most of them thriving. We are concerned about the 3 latest arrivals, all road traffic asccidents, and still showing signs of head trauma. 21 starling chicks moved to the aviary this weekend, and tho' there are still some in the hospital, its a lot quieter there now. the outside bunch are eating well, and getting plenty of excercise in one of our largest aviaries. 3 healthy greenfinches moved out today. The are the best greenfinches ever reared at Hessilhead, all thanks to Emma. The pine marten moved to a bigger space in one of the sheds. She looks quite grown up now, but is really still quite babyish. She was thriled with her new accommodation, and spend time exploring the logs and crevices we had provided. She tried bouding and leaping, but her co-ordination couldn't cope. When her front end leaped forward, her rear end stayed put. No doubt she'll get the hang of it soon. 5 young tawny owls have moved to an aviary, and ducklings are always on the move to new premises as they convert grassy pens to mud! The two original badger cubs were pleased when a little sow was introduced to them. They all stayed out all afternoon, playing gently. |
| 26th April 2007 | Spring babies and Uist hogs |
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There was plenty going on at Hessilhead. The first patient arived at 1am this morning, and the first phone call came at 6. Then Jo arrived to collect some Uist hedgehogs for relocation at Drumchapel. We met Jo a few weeks ago when she brought a family of fox cubs that had been rescued from a burning derelict building. One of the cubs was unconscious on arrival, but after a few hours in intensive care she was able to stand and eat a little. Next day she was back with her siblings. The hedgehogs will have been released now, and hopefully will be foraging for natural food. We have been a bit overrun with hedgehogs recently. Last week 100 came over from the Uists. they came in 2 batches, but most of the 1st batch were still in care when the 2nd lot arrived. Our hedgehog hospital has never been so busy. Gradually the hogs are attaining their release weight and moving out, but we heard today that another 34 have been caught on the islands. We can expect another consignment next week. This afternoon it was time to worm the fox cubs. Some of them were easily caught and accepted their treatment without a struggle. Some hid, some squealed, and one of them managed to bite Leianne. We look forward to the repeat performance in two weeks! There was an influx of blackbird chicks this evening. Two were cat victims, that were given antibiotics on arrival, and are now feeding well. Then came a family of 5 chciks, that were delivered to Knowetop, the community farm in Dumbarton, in a suitcase. They are chunky chicks, and it was difficult to see how they had all squeezed into the nest that came with them. Perhaps the nest fell from the bush under their weight. |
| 20th April 2007 | Happy Ending to a Tawny Owl Saga |
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The saga began several weeks ago when a lady arrived at the wildlife hospital with a tawny owl wrapped in a jacket. She said she had found the owl beneath vegetation wqhile tidying her garden. The owl was a small male bird, and it had a fractured wing. I happened to comment that it was really unfortunate as the owl almost certainly had a mate incubating eggs. Without her mate she wouldn't be able to hatch them. The lady told us that her neighbour had an owl box in his garden, and she would ask if it was being used. Later that day we had from the neighbour, telling us he had checked the nest box, and found an owl sitting on 4 eggs. She had flown from the box when he disturbed her, buit retunbred later. We decided to help, and sent a supply of day old chicks, which could be left out at night for te female owl. She didn't touch them. The next plan was to leave a ladder against the tree, giving access to the nest box, and f our chicks would be dropped in every 2nd day. These were eaten, tho' the owl did fly from the box as soon as anyone stepped on the ladder. Meanwhile the owl had been seen by a vet, its wing was strapped and we hoped for a speedy recovery. The bandage was removed after 2 weeks, and the owl was flying after 3. Normally we would have given the owl more time in an aviary, but we decided to take our patient back to his mate. Two,of the eggs had hatched by this time. Apparently the female owl greeted the male when he flew from the carrying box, or perhaps she was demanding to know where he had been! All went well till last night, when an owl chick appeared at the paitio door of the house. We went to investigate, and as it was a particularly stormy night, decided to bring the youngster back to the hospital for shelter and food. It fed well, seemed perfectly fit, and we retunred it to the garden earlier this evening. As soon as we arrived we heard Mum and Dad hooting and kewicking, then had several glimpses of owls flying from tree to tree. The youngster became more inquisitive as time went on, and after about an hour our patience and its was rewarded. Mum flew down with a mouse, dropped it beside the owlet, and quickly departed. We left, satisfied that the owlet was in the best place, in the wild with its parents. |
| 8th May 2006 | More babies |
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The day started with a call from Whyte & McKay's. A mallard had nested on their 7th floor again, the ducklings had just been spotted and needed to be rescued. otherwise they would jumnp from the building and land in a busy Glasgow street. Soon after Andy, Jenny and Heather arrived back with 9 ducklings, there was a call from a vets in South Ayrshire, reporting that they had a baby otter. Well, its never good news when a young animal has lost its Mum, but it was good news for Sanna, the otter cub already in care. She will soon have company, which is good. A nestful of finches, probably green-, was blown from a conifer in Lanark, and the nestlings have joined our growing number of young birds requiring half hourly feeds. Also in care are blackbirds, starlings and the first of this year's magpie chicks. Fox cub numbers reached 11 today, with two more cubs from the east coast. One of them is an odd looking cub, with white socks on its hind feet. It is surprising that we have no owl chciks yet, perhaps they have nested late this year. Good news about the adult tawny owl in care. he began to feed himself today. |
| 1st May 2006 | more orphans in care |
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We have 5 fox cubs now, still living apart as either they don't match up for size, or they have injuries still being treated. There are more blackbird chicks, 3 song thrushes and the 1st nest of starlings. The starling chicks are just a few days old, and were removed from a loft because someone wouldn't tolerate them for the next two weeks, the time it would take for their parents to rear them. It will be a lot of work rearing them, and then they will need time in an aviary before being released. Yesterday I kept thinking of their parents, delivering worms for chicks they could not find. I wonder what the home owner thought when he saw the parents perched on his roof, not knowing what to do with their beaks full of food. The time to block uo holes in roofs, to prevent birds nesting, is straight after the breeding season. If it isn't done then people forget, and the birds nest again the following year. Two badger cubs came into care yesterday. One is approx 2 months old, the other grumpier at 3 months. Both were found beside dead adult badgers. We kept the cubs apart last night, to check if they were eating. Both ate well. Today we moved them to outdoor accommodation. The little one immediately started gathering straw, and in true badger fashion, reversing with it into her sleeping quarters. When we checked later both badgers were curled up together in the nest. |
| 6th April 2006 | Children's Activity Day |
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| We had an enthusiastic group of youngsters here today, learning about wildlife. First of all they discovered some of the differences between town and country foxes, then they met Fergus the fox. Then it was time to learn about hedgehogs, and help to clean and feed some of the hedgehogs that have spent the winter at Hessilhead. After drinks the children saw photos of the various owls that we care for, and found out what these owls eat in the wild. Most of the children were happy to let Plop the barn owl perch on their arm. Finally we went to the quarry pond to feed the swans and ducks; the dogs came too. The whooper swans were still there, and we identified mallards, tufted ducks, moorhen and little grebe. More children's activity days will be organized in the summer holidays. |
| 6th April 2006 | Whooper Swan |
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| We admitted a whooper swan last night. It had landed on the Heritage Loch at East Kilbride, and been beaten up by the resident mute swans. It seemed to recover its dignity soon after arriving at Hessilhead, and having no serious injuries, we decided to release it on the quarry pond today. There has been a whooper on the quarry pond all winter. It can fly, but chooses to stay here. Today it was delighted to find a mate, and the two of them swam around together, whooping. We wonder whether both will stay, or will they leave. |
| 22nd April 2006 | Start of the the busy season |
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| The phone rang at 7.15 this morning; someone asking if they could bring 3 blackbird chicks. They were cat victims, such a pity, as they are fat chunky chicks. They are eating well, and having such a good start, they should soon be feeding themselves and ready for the aviary. Two more blackbird chicks came later, as well as 3 hedgehogs, a gull and a pigeon. We were running a First Aid course today, so the patients made good exhibits. Now we are waiting for a delivery of Uist hedgehogs, 31 plus a pet lamb(don't ask), but the van has been diverted due to an accident, and probably won't be here till 11pm. I guess we'll be ready for bed once they have been unloaded. |
| 2nd April 2006 | Uist Hedgehog Rescue |
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| Andy and I have just spent a couple of days on Benbecula, helping to prepare for this year's hedgehof rescue. It was a pity we only stayed two days, as the weather was warm and sunny. nevertheless, we had time for a couple of walks and some bird watching, giving good views of long tailed duck, hen harriers, short eared owls and merlin. The Uist Rescue Centre is being run by two enthusiastic volunteers, Joseph and Dan. They found their first hedgehog on Friday evening, and it travelled back to the mainland with us last night. It has settled in well, is eating lots, and will be relocated soon. If anyone would like to help relocate Uist hogs this year, please get in touch. |
| 20th April 2006 | deer rescue |
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It must be the start of the deer season. We had a call from the police at 3am yesterday morning, asking if we could help with an injured deer on the road between Barrhead and Paisley. Bev and Clare, 2 resident volunteers, had said they would like to come on a night rescue. They were ready within minutes of me knocking on their cabin door; but I think they sleeping almost fully clothed! It was lucky they were with us. When we arrived at the site, the deer was standing, though he still had a tartan blanket over his shoulders. It looked as if he was about to do a runner, but Clare was soon in front of him, and Andy helped calm him as he tried to escape. There was no chance of examining a struggling deer on a dark road, so we brought him back to the centre. We were checking him over and discussing his injuries, when Bev appeared to give birth to a hot water bottle. She'd had it up her jumper throughout the rescue! Lucky it hadn't fallen out in front of the police! By morning the deer was standing, but there was a broken bone near his hock. He spent 24 hours at the vets, undergoing 2 hours of surgery, and returned today, with a hefty splint on his leg. He was soon standing again, and has been eating. Fingers crossed. Last weeks deer is making good progress, and we hope she will be ready for release next week. |
| 14th April 2006 | Sunny day, cats out! |
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Even if we hadn't been outside today, enjoying the spring sunshine, we would have known that the weather was good. This was because 3 cat victims were brought in, so moggies must be out hunting again. First to arrive was a female blackbird, badly cut and with most of her flight feathers missing. It will be a while before she is out to breed. Then came a robin, tail feathers missing and a sore wing. Hopefully he will soon be fit to go. Last came a wren. Now they are difficult patients. Not only is it difficult finding a cage they can't squeeze out of, it is usually difficult getting them to eat. So in this case I opted to give the bird one long-acting antibiotic injection, and sent it back for release in the same garden. I know the cat will still be there, but the wren will know where to feed and shelter. That will give it the best chance of survival. Its tail feathers will soon grown back. Early in the afternoon the first fox cub of the year arrived. His eyes are just opening, he came from Edinburgh, and prefers meat to milk. Hopefully he will soon get a pal. |
| 11th April 2006 | Uist Hogs |
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| Zandra and Javier, our Chilean vets, arrived back at Hessilhead with 17 hedgehogs from the Uists. The hedgehogs were very active when put into their new cages, and inquisitive too. It didn't take them long to find their food. Now we need some warmer weather, so they can be relocated. |
| 10th April 2006 | Otter cub |
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Andy and Ulrika travelled to Arnamurchan today to collect an otter cub. The small cub, perhaps 7 or 8 weeks old was found yesterday at a campsite. The holiday maker stopped to photograph the cub, which then followed the person's feet, and wouldn't leave. they tried putting the cub in the sea, but she came straight back out. Luckily they then phoned for advice. An otter cub behaving like this needs help. Something must have happened to its mother. We gave the otter, named Sanna after the bay where she was found, rehydration fluids when she arrived at the centre. Later I gave her fish, which she soon learned to eat. She ate more fish herself overnight.. She seems a contented young cub. |
| 5th March 2006 | Back Again and spring is just around the corner |
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You may have thought I had left the country, and with recurring problems with broadband there have been times I felt like doing just that! Hopefully all is sorted out now, and the diary will be back regularly. Swans, raptors and owls have continued to come ago. There was a moorhen too, that had a large wound under its leg that required stitching, but the bird made a really good recovery and was released back in its territory near Pollok Country Park. Today we returned a buzzard to its territory too. the bird had been a difficult patient. Having recovered from concussion it refuased to eat; we checked its vision, which seemed perfect; we tried different foods, but that made no difference. Even worse was the fact that the buzzard became progressively more difficult to hand feed. it really didn't like being caught and restrained. Eventually we tried something we rarely do. We moved the bird to an aviary, before it ate a thing in its hsopital cage, hoping that it would eat there. After 2 days the buzzard ate a rabbit, and then a large hare, that we found dead on the road, lasted it for several days. No other food was eaten, but luckily, we found another dead rabbit, and by the time the buzzard had eaten that, we decided it was ready for release. The buzzard flew high when we opened the box, and flew towards a stretch of woodland. It circled above this wood for several minutes, and we commented that it must be searching for its mate. having no luck, the buzzard soared higher, then flew towards another wood. Almost immediately another buzzard appeared, and the two of them circled together, an old bond renewed. It was a delight to watch. You may be wondering how I know that spring is round the corner. Well, the Hessilhead spring certainly is. today the first two blackbird chicks arrived at the Centre. They are about a week old, in good condition, but unfortunately their mum was killed by a cat. The parents had done a good job rearing healthy chicks in this cold spell of weather, but a single parent would have no chance of feeding them and keeping them warm. We wonder what the next babies will be? |
| 22nd March 2006 | Injured swan |
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The swan looked dreadful when it arrived. It had been bleedong from a cut on its face, and whole of it was blood stained. Blood still poured from the wound. Luckily we have 2 vets on site, Javier and Zandra from Chile. They set to work, cleaning the wound, and stitching the caruncle(knob) back in place. The swan was soon looking as good as new, and after a swim on the indoor pool it became white again. We don't know how the accident happened. The last time we saw a similar injury, the swan had hit wires, but today's bird was found on Hoganfield Loch, so that seems unlikely.We'll probably never know. Earlier we released a moorhen that had been found unconscious on the road yesterday. By the time it arrived here, wrapped in a jacket, it was fighting fit. We kept it in overnight for observation, then released it at the pond close to where it was found. It obviously knew exactly where it was, and flew not to the pond, but to the river a little further away. |
| 17th March 2006 | Leverets |
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| Found in a quarry this morning, the tiny leverets had been kept in an office all day, the workers hoping that perhaps they could put them out again this evening. They decided to phone for advice, and partly because the site had been disturbed a lot during the day, and also because the leverets had been found on rock, not vegetation, we decided it would be better if the youngsters came here. I often wonder how leverets survive when they are born so early in the year, when temperatures can be below freezing, and there is little shelter for them. Doubtless some of them do, but it seemed unlikely that these would survive in a working quarry, with no vegetation at all to hide them. They are snuggled together in a warm box now, and have already taken their first feed from a bottle. |
| 13th March 2006 | Snow |
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Yesterday's snow didn't seem at all like spring was on the way. Yet our blackbird chick is fledged now and beginning to feed himself. Today a young mistle thrush was admitted. He is older than the blackbird, and came from the middle of Glasgow. The snow made it impossible for most volunteers to come yesterday, tho' Stuart got as far as the quarry, and walked it in from there. Luckily we have some resident volunteers on site, and everything had been fed by lunchtime, which was very good considering the depth of snow(8") and the difficulty of getting around. That left plenty of time for snowball fights and making snowmen! No patients were delivered, but we managed to get out to collect an injured sparrowhawk from Lugton. It has a sore shoulder after crashing into a window. |
| 7th February 2006 | sparrowhawk |
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The raptor influx continued with the arrival of a strong adult female sparrowhawk last night. Apparently the bird had been found stunned. She was taken to the local veterinary surgery, where she instantly recovered and caused havoc in the waitUse of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at /home/.sites/28/site163/web/hessilhead/cgi-bin/diary.pl line 43.
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ing room. I gather it took quite while to catch her. This morning we examined the bird again, then flew her on a line. It was the best creance flight I have ever seen. It was windy, and the bird flew high, and did 3 circuits before Andy brought her down. I wondered if he thought he was flying a kite! I gave the bird a small feed, then Andy took her back to Irvine and released her. I gather she was in a hurry to go! |
| 7th February 2006 | Sparrowhawk |
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| 7th February 2006 | Sparrowhawk |
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| 5th February 2006 | Tawny returns |
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Yesterday was an owl and raptor day. We still have 2 buzzards in the hospital that are not feeding themselves. They are underweight, one is still concussed and the other has a high parasite burden. They are being fed 3 timnes a day so they'll gain weight. The tawny that came from Kilsyth on Friday looks pretty sorry for itself. I hand fed him on Saturday morning, but last night he fed himself. Yesterday afternoon a small male kestrel was brought in from Denny. He is a bit of a mystery. He is underweight, his feathers are dirty as if he had been on the road for a while, but today he coughed up a good pellet, indicating he had been eating well. He looks bright, and is eating everything on offer. Last night we collected a tawny owl from Kilmarnock, and it was interesting to see that the bird was ringed. It was even more exciting when I discovered today, that this owl was reared at Hessilhead, and released in August 2003. Who said that rehabilitation doesn't work? We also went out for a buzzard last night, reported to be on the motorway verge at the start of the Greenock exit ramp at St James Interchange. We went to look forst, and sure enough, there was the buzzard, barely a foot from the road. We went off the motorway, came home for nets, phoned the police for assistence, and returned to the M8, only to discover the buzzard had gone. He hadn't appeared injured when I saw him as we drove past, so perhaps he was making use of the good lighting at the Interchange, and feeding on worms on the verge. |
| 2nd February 2006 | Seal release and deer rescue |
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Today we released Scuddy, the seal that was found on Ayr beach last summer. He had been up to weight for a few weeks, but developed eye ulcers, which didn't respond to the first type of ointment. When Andy and I returned from a few days break in the Yorkshire Dales yesterday, we were pleased to see his eyes open and bright. We couldn't have chosen the release time better. It was high tide at Portencross, and the sun broke through the cloud as we arrived. Scuddy soon left the carrying box, but swam round the harbour for ten minutes or more, providing many photo opportunities. Eventually he swam out to sea, and was last seen swimming near the pier. We had just returned to the cars when we received a call on the mobile from a rather frantic lady. Her excitement was understandable, as her dog had just startled a deer in their garden, causing it to jump the fence and land in the sea ( high tide, remember)It was wimming in circles, but obviously tiring. Luckily we were closer than if we had been at the centre, but the rush hour traffic was frustrating. When we arrived the deer was collapsed on the beach. Andy was soon down the rocks, between the deer and sea, and as the deer made an effort to escape, Andy grabbed it. He struggled back up the rocks, and soon the deer was in the seal carrying box, on blankets and with the car heater on full. At present it is in the hospital, surrounded by heaters, and lightly sedated. It has a nasty injury under a hind leg, so if it survives the night, it will go to the vet in the morning. Touch wood. |
| 6th January 2006 | barn owl |
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As you know, barn owls have been increasingly frequent casualties admitted to Hessilhead in the last couple of years. This week a female barn owl was brought in; surprisingly it had been caught by a buzzard, which released its prey when disturbed. Last year a barn owl was brought in after being caught by a falconer's goshawk, so I wonder how common it is for large raptors to attack owls. The barn owl is still suffering the effects of a head injury, but is showing signs of progress. The oiled swans are doing well. Rotating swimming time with preening time is paying off. The swans are doing most of the cleaning themselves, though inevitably a lot of work is involved in caring for a such a lot of large birds. We will be pleased to see them ready for release. |
| 3rd January 2006 | Guess what, swans |
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| No surprise that swans were the first casualties of the year, but 18 in two days was more than we expected. The problem was stale cooking oil in Irvine harbour, and the swans most seriously affected were soaking wet. Luckily the swans at Irvine are used to being fed most of the day, and at high tide are easy to reach from the jetty. On Sunday, the first, we got 11, and another 7 on the second. We returned today, as there were two really wet swans we couldn't get yesterday, but they were out on a sand bar today, preening vigorously. The cooking oil won't cause any internal damage, so preening is ok, and eventually the swans should get clean and waterproof again. Bad weather could cause them problems, but the dry weather of the last few days has certainly helped. The swans at Hessilhead are taking turnes using the swan pond, and between swims they are preening too. We hope that some will be ready for realease by the weekend |
| 24th January 2006 | Peregrine |
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This afternoon we released the male peregrine which was picked up injured in George Square last Monday. The female peregrine watched from the Finnieston Crane while a Herald photographer took 'millions' of pics. After perching on the concrete base of a lighting unit for what seemed like a long time, the male bird evenually flew strongly, followed soon after by the female. This evening we returned a fox to Thornliebank. As soon as we opened the carrying box it jumped from the back of the car, walked away, casually glancing over its shoulder at Andy. It went a short way up a narrow lane, but by the time Andy got round the hedge and into the lane, the fox was coming back, with food in its mouth. There must be people putting food out regularly for foxes, and he remembered! Shelby released a buzzard at Monkton, and 2 swans at Irvine, while Helen released swans at Richmond park, after collecting another crash landing casualty from across the road. |
| 22nd January 2006 | Buzzard |
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| A really sad looking buzzard was brought in yesterday. Not only was it weak and emaciated, it was covered in slurry. It had 3 lots of lectade by crop tube before being allowed some food today. It looks so much better. it has been moved into a cage, is perching, and we hope that it may feed itself now. We will allow the bird to put on weight before attempting to clean its feathers. There is no sign of injury; perhaps just a young bird finding it difficult to get enough food. it probably resorted to worming, hence its close proximity to slurry, and then the feather contamination didn't help its ability to fly. |
| 20th January 2006 | some releases |
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We had been looking forward to several releases this week, but the stormy weather resulted in some postponments. The roe buck which came from Eglinton park in december went off successfully yesterday, although it gave the release team an adrenolin rush when it headed along a road instead of following its nose into the wood. Luckily it took another track to the woods after a short road sprint. A sparrowhawk returned to kirkintilloch, flying well after recovering from a dislocated elbow. It hadn't exactly been a good patient. It would eat when kept in a carrying box, but not when in an aviary, nor in an indoor flight. So giving it excercise meant a lot of moving from indoors to outside. I suppose it must have felt safer when in the confines of a box, and pretty stressed when in a bigger area. We tried to release a heron, but it took one look at the weather and decided to stay in the sheltered aviary, where food gets delivered regularly. When the weather got worse, we shut the door. Hopefully it will leave in better weather next week. |
| 15th January 2006 | Peregrine |
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Andy went into Glasgow early this morning, to collect a bird that had been in collision with a window, and was causing some alarm when office staff arrived for work to find a rather large predatory bird obstructing their way. Andy was somewhat surprised to find an adult male peregrine, in George Square, right in the city centre. The bird was concussed, and has some feathers missing from its neck. It is perching tho, and looking brighter already. Peregrines are reported fairly regularly from the city, but we didn't expect an adult to come into care. Hopefully it will be ready for release next week. |
| 13th January 2006 | Swans again......and fox |
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By lunch time today we had 7 swans queueing for attention in the hospital. Admittedly 3 of them weren't newcomers; they had just returned from a few days as in-patients at the vets. One cygnet has a severe fungal lung infection, it rattles constantly and came back with a bottle medicine. The adult swan that was run over (literally) in Hogganfield car park last Saturday, is making steady progress. It stands now, reluctantly, and eats and eats. The remaining cygnet is a mystery, still not eating much, bleeding slightly from sinuses, lethargic tho' would like to be aggressive. We will persevere with its treatment, fingers x-ed. The new arrivals include a healthy pair of swans from Iceland car park in Saltcoats, maybe they were sheltering from the stormy sea. An adult swan was rescued from A737, probably crash landed, and the remaining adult came from Victoria park in Glasgow. It has a really nasty swelling just above the foot, probably a chronic infection. Feeling good though, eating well. Then, for a change, a fox arrived. Heavily sedated, it was transferred to our last big hospital cage. It was picked up on the road this morning, and taken to a vet. X-rays were taken, and reveal no fractures nor chest damage. I bet it is badly concussed tho', and the muzzle is so swollen that the animal looks more like a chow than a fox. It might be interesting giving it medication. Apparently it had come round at the vets, and wasn't too pleased about being handled. Hence the additional sedation to bring it here! Shelby found time this afternoon to release 4 swans at Irvine Harbour. That leaves us with a net gain of 6 swans in the last 2 days! Hopefully no more will get in trouble over weekend. |
| 10th January 2006 | woodcock |
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It was a relief to see rain and feel the warmer temperatures today, especially as the last patient to be admitted last night was a woodcock. Woodcock cope with a period in care, as long as they kept in a large box in semi darkness. A woodcock in a cage is a disaster. The bird will constantly poke its beak through the mesh, attempting to escape, and resulting in skin damage around the base of the bill. The bird also uses a lot of energy in these efforts to escape. A boxed woodcock will feed on worms in a dish of muddy water. The problem is that they eat a lot, hence the pleasure in seeing today's thaw. It is bad enough getting sufficient worms when the ground is soft. It is impossible when the ground is frozen solid. The woodcock has feathers missing from a wing, a wound on its breast and an eye injury. So its on quite a lot of treatment. |
| 8th December 2005 | Roe Deer |
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Yesterday's deer still concussed, but has been standing, and drinking. keep your fingers crossed. It has been a bad week for buzzards, with 4 injured birds being brought in, none of which were viable. Three had been road traffic accidents, two were blind and one had a broken back, the other buzzard died of starvation soon after arriving here. So it is good news that another buzzard, that was tangled on barbed wire a few weeks ago, is now fighting fit and ready for release. Some of you may have seen the lovely photos of Fergus the fox in many of yesterdays papers. Both he and Shelby are very photogenic! |
| 7th December 2005 | Roe Deer |
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| Today an injured roe buck was delivered in the back of a police car. The deer is badly concussed, and its new antlers, which have just started to grow after the old ones were cast, have been broken. There was a lot of blood around the head, and a small tear near the tail. However, we are hopeful that it will recover. |
| 4th December 2005 | Swans |
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It has been another swan week. There was a swan at Rozelle that had swallowed a large amount of fishing line, so much that it could no longer feed. There were swans on roads and a swan at Rangers training ground, swans in gardens and 4 swans trapped on an old section of canal in Glasgow. This cut off section of canal is to be cleaned and joined to the main canal, and the old industrial buildings revitalized. Unfortunately, before asking if we could move the swans, the work force have almost finished draining the canal. The swans are now swimming in muddy water 7' below ground level, and there is a century of rubbish around the edges. So far we have caught the 2 cygnets. The adult pair are playing harder to get. Today we heard of an injured whooper swan at Barons Haugh Bird Reserve. As it is usually seen close to the bank of the Clyde, it is likely to be difficult to get too. |
| 31st December 2005 | End of year |
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We finished the year fairly quietly with swans continuing to get into trouble more than other species. In the last week or so we have treated swans for a variety of problems.....hook in windpipe, broken leg, hit trees, roofs etc in fog, and leading a procession of traffic in Paisley! A sparrowhawk was admitted on Boxing day, probably a window casualty with a shoulder problem. A young roe buck, with a really pretty face, got stuck in railings in Maryhill. Next day his skin was bright red; it looked like he had red traffic lights on either side. He has been treated with pain relief, and has settled down well. Hopefully the hospital is closed now till next year! All the Best from all at Hessilhead |
| 11th December 2005 | Kestrels |
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We have been commenting on how many kestrels we have been seeing recently, but until this weekend, we hadn't had one in the hospital for a while. Yesterday Mione brought one from Fintry. It had been hit by a car, is concussed and has a broken leg. We splinted the leg and treated the bird with anti-inflammatory drugs. It is taking small bits of food offered from fingers, and today has been standing, which is quite good progress. This morning we had a call about an owl or sparrowhawk, which fluttered across a garden yesterday afternoon, and was still standing facing the fence. On arrival we found a kestrel, sleeping with its head tucked into its back. It came to life when we disturbed it, but had almost certainly hit a window. It is is bruised all down its left side, but is in really good condition. We are hopeful for a full recovery of this bird too. |
| 30th November 2005 | Conference |
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Andy and I were in Inverness last weekend, enjoying the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference. There was a really good mix of talks, varying from seal parasites, to reptiles, herring gulls releases, health and safety and inevitably, avian flu. Of course the socialising is good too, always good to meet with friends who face similar problems in caring for injured wildlife. The person who gave the presentation on reptiles runs a reptile rescue centre in Lincolnshire. Now isn't that lucky. On his way back down he collected our adders, and I am sure will give them every chance to survive the winter and be returned to the wild. |
| 18th November 2005 | Adders |
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| A new species for Hessilhead today. Someone arrived with a large glass tank containing a female adder and 2 babies. They seem to have been in care for a while, so it is probably too cold now to release them this year. We are awaiting expert advice!, and being careful. |
| 17th November 2005 | Whooper swans |
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Andy and I got back from a couple of days hillwalking to find two more swans in care, but, for a change, they are whooper swans. Whooper swans are much more difficult patients than mutes. They are always more aggressive, panicky and reluctnat to eat. One of them is suffering from lead poisoning, the other landed on a pond occupied by a mute family, and was seriously beaten up before getting off the water. It seems to be feeling better today, but hasn't eaten. Just by coincidence, 9 whooper swasn landed on our quarry pond today. I think the resident whooper swan has gone away with them, but the last time he did that, he came 'home' the following morning. We'll see what happens this time. |
| 15th November 2005 | Buzzard |
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| A strange thing happened this evening. Just after 4pm we received a call to say that a buzzard had been hit by a car on the busy A77. It was sitting on the central reservation. Reluctant to attempt a rescue in the rush hour, we waited. An hour later the driver who hit the buzzard called again, saying he had returned, and it was still there. But yes, the traffic was heavy. We got to the site about 6.30, and as we drove past the 2nd pylon, we spotted the buzzard, just where we were told it would be. Traffic still heavy. The police were too busy to assist just then, so we drove the road again at 7.30, and decided the traffic was light enough to chance a rescue. With orange light flashing on the car and wearing a high visiblilty jacket, Andy waited for a lull in the traffic, and strode across the road. As he got close to the buzzard it spread its wings and flew strongly, rising quickly and disappearing into the darkness across the field. Not much wrong there. Luckily it had stayed in one place while stunned, and three and a half hours later had recovered. Apparently no injuries. I don't suppose that will happen often. |
| 14th November 2005 | Update |
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You haven't heard much news for a while. Its not that things haven't been happening, just that it has been a bit repetitive. There have been lots of swans, some of them cygnets that have crash landed, but also adults limping badly for a variety of reasons. There have been lots of juvenile hedgehogs admitted; most have settled down well and have begun to eat their way thro' a winter in care. There were a few surprises late in October. An RTA water rail was brought in, badly bruised on its left side. It could manage to lean against the side of its box and eat worms and small fish. Deciding it was fit for release was difficult, as whenever we tried to observe it outside, it panicked and ran for cover. It did exactly the same when we released it at Lochwinnoch. but did fly a short distance. At the same time we had a Leach's petrel, blown inland during stormy weather. When we released it at Stevenson Point, it flew exactly as the last one did. It circled inland, apparently flying strongly, and then headed out to sea. Last week there was an unusual incident, when a young common seal fell asleep on a concrete piller, only about a foot wide. The seal didn't wake up till the tide was out, by which time it was a 6' drop to shallow water. We played for time, knowing that if we approached the seal, it would jump and possibly hurt itself. It eventually returned safely to the sea at the next high tide. |
| 9th October 2005 | progress |
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Good news. so far on two of the patients that came in a couple of days ago. The swan with head injuries is making progress. He was on the swan hospital pond today, but still has difficulty eating. He seems to be feel better on the water though, and it must be good to have company of other swans. The little deer is doing well. She can walk with her splint, is eating vegetation and rabbit food, and is not to jumpy when we take her treatment. Early days yet for both of them, but hopefully the improvements will continue. Rescued two swans from a territorial battle today, and released them later at Irvine harbour. We rescued a sparrowhawk from a garden in Kilmaurs. She is very thin and may have a vision problem. She is on heat and fluid therapy till morning. This evening we collected a young gannet from Maidens beach. We thought young gannets would be further south by now, but we heard last week that many have not fledged yet from Ailsa Craig. So there may be more to come after this evenings gales. |
| 7th October 2005 | %7CHectic morning |
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| It all started happening at 8am this morning. The first call about an injured deer was quickly followed by a call about an injured swan in Glasgow. Then another swan crash landed in Dalry. So the routine feeding and cleaning was somewhat delayed while rescued were organized, and patients treated. The deer has a broken leg, but late this afternoon she had come round from the sedative, and was gingerly walking on her splint. She is probably still a bit concussed, as next time I looked in on her she was lying down quietly. Hopefully she will settle well, as her leg will need to be splinted for about 6 weeks. The Glasgow swan has a head injury, the Dalry swan is fighting fit. This evening we returned to Glasgow for a swan that had crash landed in a garden near Jury's Pond. When we arrived on the scene the lady and her neighbours were clapping loudly, not to applaud our arrival, but to keep the local foxes away from the trapped swan. Glasgow foxes really are cheeky enough to come into gardens while people are there, and they may have thought a swan would make a tasty Friday night supper. Last patient of the day, (we hope) is a gannet collected from the Arran ferry. |
| 6th October 2005 | Releases here, there and everywhere |
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What a good week for releases. The Neilston swan family returned to one of the Neilston ponds, and the biggest 3 off our hand reared cygnets were released on the River at Ayr. As usual they were shown around the river by some of the resident adult swans. Crows and jackdaws were released at Hessilhead, and the peregrine was also released here. She flew strongly to the old dead elm tree on the bank at the bottom of the field. two crows followed her there, and within minutes about 30 crows had gathered around her. The local buzzard went to investigate, but unperturbed by all this threatening behaviour, the peregrine flew off across the pond. Four fox cubs were released in 2 locations, and coincidentally, as we arrived at each site, a fox was seen in the area. Today Andy and I tok two barn owls to a release site in Dumfriesshire. They were put into an old barn, where nest boxes had already been installed. they wil be released from there in a few weeks. We were also keen to investigate possibility of using the site to rehabilitate the short-eared owl currently in care. It couldn't have been more suitable. From the aviary which will be built there, the owl will have extenxive views over the Galloway hills. She will be given a soft release in spring, when other short-eared owls are returning to the hills. Whilst at the site, we were lucky to have good views of merlin hunting. |
| 1st October 2005 | Guillemots |
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| We have a dozen guillemots in care now. They are coming in dribs and drabs, rather than en masse as they did last year. One bird was found in Hamilton, and one in Paisley, but most have been found on beaches. The average weight on arrival is 550gm, whereas a healthy guillemot should weigh in excess of 700gm. Most of the birds are gaining weight, and maintaining their water-proofing as they have twice daily swims in the swan hospital pool. All are being given prophylactic treatment against aspergillosis, a fungal infection which commonly affects seabirds under stress and in care. We are hoping that some of the guillemots will be ready for release next week. We have certainly learned a lot from having such large numbers of guillemots last year. |
| 6th September 2005 | Rabbits |
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Just when we thought the baby season was coming to an end, 5 baby rabbits were dug up on a building site in Kilmarnock. They are 2-3 weeks old, chubby liitle things, but at a difficult age to take a bottle. They will need milk, and I daresay there will be some tiresome feeding sessions in the next few days. They should nibble some grass, and hopefully will soon learn to feed. Today we released a leveret. She is about 8 weeks old, well grown and like all hares, nervous of sudden movements. We carried her to the release site in the cage she was used to, removed the lid and waited. We didn't have to wait long for her to jump from the cage and start eating grass. It was good watching her explore, stop to feed, run and jump and frolic, feed again etc. There is no need for a soft release with hares and rabbits. it is just a case of choose the right habitat and let them go. After all, food is all around them. |
| 5th September 2005 | Sparrowhawks |
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Our sparrowhawk season is late this year. Usually it peaks in mid-August, when juvenile sparrowhawks, learning to hunt for themselves, get it wrong and collide, usually with windows. I don't know whether sparrowhawks bred later this year, or are having accidents later. We have 6 in care, all females, and mostly with right shoulder injuries. They can be difficult patients, often reluctant to feed themselves, and very flappy in cages. So three times a day we are hand feeding 4 sparrowhawks. The other 2 are self feeding and living in indoor flights. When these birds are ready for release, they will be returned to where they came from. We have resident sparrowhawks at Hessilhead, but we don't want an excess of them!. We have just had a call from a man with a strange problem. He has two fish ponds in his garden, and has just had a visit from an otter. He was wanting advice on how to protect his fish. It is almost certain that the otter will be back, and Andy thinks that electric netting will be the only effective deterent. What a dilemma. |
| 3rd September 2005 | Behind the Scenes |
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| Today we had 8 people on our behind the Scenes Day. These days offer an opportunity to get closer to some of our patients, and to learn what goes into running a rescue centre. Today we discussed the porpoise before it was collected for a pm, we met Daffy and visited our badger release site. We ringed the barn owls prior to release, fed the seals, learnt about rearing hedgehogs from 1 week old to moving to a rehabilitation pen, and lots more. Contact us for details of our next course. |
| 25th September 2005 | swan weekend |
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It looks like the swan season has started again. Yesterday a cygnet crash landed in Bridge of Weir. It didn't have any injuries, but it did have leeches in its eyes. I am sure it must feel better without them. Today two swans were collected from a Kilbarchan garden. As it happens both swans were ringed, and both had been in care at Hessilhead for quite a long time. they were released earlier this year at Castle Semple Loch, but must have decided to stick together as they explore. They are small swans, but have maintained their weight since being in care, and should be ready for release again soon. Later this afternoon Andy took Amanda and Gillian, two of our resdident volunteers, to rescue two swans in Ayr. These were resident at Northfield Pond, but last week the pond was drained, leaving the swans high (or rather low) and dry. The pond is not big enough for the swans to take off, (they usually take off from the playing fields) and they were unable to climb up the 2' vertical walls. It wasn't difficult to catch the swans, and relocate them on the river at Ayr. I expect they will return when the pond is refilled. |
| 15th September 2005 | Underweight season |
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Most young birds are independent of their parents now, but some will not survive. In the case of the buzzard, brought in two days ago, his poor condition may be a combination of difficulty finding food, and then being hit by a car. We kept the bird on fluids for 24 hours, then he started to feed himself. There is no doubt he will gain weight and be fit enough to return to the wild, but will he learn to hunt more successfully second time round. We will give him a soft release from Hessilhead, so he will know he can return for food. That should help. With guillemots it is impossible to provide a soft release. The birds coming in now are very much underweight, and some have been blown inland, obviously because they are in such poor condition. By the time these birds are up to weight, we should have a better idea of the scale of the problem. If just a few individuals are affected, it will be worth giving them a second chance. If there is a major shortage of fish, returning these birds to the sea to starve again would hardly be in their best interests. |
| 12th September 2005 | foxes |
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It has been quite a foxy day today. Harry came a made a safety porch on one of our large enclosures, so that fergus could live there without danger of getting out. Fergus came to Hessilhead about 10 days ago. The young fox had turned up at a barbecue near Dumfries! He had hung around for ciuple of days, and then been taken into care. The lady kept him in her utilty room beofre bringing him to Hessilhead. Fergus is so desperate for human company, that getting into his temporary run without him getting out was becoming difficult. So now Fergus has a lareg new home, and he is sharing it with Bad Waggy, this year's failed fox cub, who seems too tame to be released. We have reared over 20 fox cubs, and bad waggy came when very young, so one failure isn't too bad. When I last saw Fergus and Bad Waggy, they didn't seem to have made friends. Waggy was narking from beneath a pile of branches, while Fergus was going round scraping out all the vegetation. We will see what has happened by morning. This evening we took an adult fox back to Linn Park. It had been picked up a few weeks ago, on the road beside the park, having been hit by a car. There was no doubt that she knew where she was when released, as she went straight to a gap in the fence and stepped through. Two of our fox cubs were released too. They are well grown now, and in excellent condition. Hopefully they will soon find a niche for themselves in Glasgow, somewhere where people will feed them. We hear of lots of people who feed foxes in their gardens, some of them even provide M&S roast chicken! |
| 11th September 2005 | Fearn |
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| A w9onderful thing happened today. I had just been round the deer enclosure, checking that Brownie was ok. I came back to the house to get her food, and when I looked down the path there was another deer, outside the encloure. She was talking to Brownie through the fence. I approached the visitng deer, and knew without a doubt, when I got to within 6' of her, that it was Fearn, released 18 months ago, having been heand reared at Hessilhead. She did this last year, started coming back for food when we put the young deer in her old enclosure. She came back all winter, but disappeared when the young ones were released in May this year. It was great to see her, I ran to get Andy, and Emma and Ruth and if she keeps coming I will feed her again all winter. There were certainly tears in my eyes this afternoon. |
| 10th September 2005 | Brownie |
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| For the last week or so I have been thinking that it was time to move Brownie to the big deer enclosure. You may remember that Brownie came from Tighnabruich in June. The young deer couldn't stand, and we almost given up hope of her recovering, when one by one, she regained the use of her legs. In order to move her, I had to shut her in the shed, and as she is quite shy, I knew that this would be tricky, and I just had to be patient. As it happened today was the day. I put Brownie's dish of food in the shed as usual, then stpped aside. She came towards the shed, saw me, hesitated, thought about it, came closer, then she walked in the shed and started eating. Slowly I stepped back towards the shed door, then quickly closed it. Now I needed help. We had to lift the big carrier over the fence, persuade her into it, that was the difficult bit, then covered with a blanket, lift the box over the fence again, and carry her to the big enclosure. Brownie was really good in the box. She didn't panic at all, and when released she walked out sedately and started eating. I am always relieved when young deer are moved successfully. |
| 31st August 2005 | Kingfisher |
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| Not many casualties arrive here without a phone call to tell us they are coming. Tonight two people arrived unexpectedly, and what a surprise when I opened the box and saw a kingfisher. As Emma said, the blue on its back was almost too bright to look at. This is the dispersal season for juvenile kingfishers and they do get into some unusual situations. Two of them had flown into a B&Q store and hit a window. One had died, the one in the box looked bright. However it does have a shoulder injury. It may fly again, but maybe not. |
| 3rd August 2005 | seal pups |
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There is always plenty to do at this time of year. We must check the young birds and animals regularly, as many of them are ready for release now. Some are released at Hessilhead, which means we can monitor their progress. We must find release sites for others, and take some to the coast. The birds are ringed before release; we must be sure they are flying well and we must check their weights. This is in addition to the routine feeding and cleaning. Today was especially busy, with 2 calls to collect injured deer before 10am, and two seal pups calls later in the day. One of the deer had its leg caught in a fence, and hopefully will be fine. Sadly the other had died before we arrived. The seal pup from Ayr beach has lots of bites, and is underweight. The pup from Rothesay is even thinner. The pups are getting rehydration fluids for 24 hours. We hope to start them on fish later tomorrow. |
| 30th August 2005 | Otters made friends |
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Yesterday we opened the tunnel that joins the two enclosures occupied by the otter cubs, Tara and Summer. Shelby was delighted when she peeped into Summer's sleeping box this morning, and two sets of beady eyes peeped back. The otters were snuggled up together. Andy and I were out for a meal this evening, so when the phone rang at 11.45, we were quite wide awake. We soon had a carrying box in the car, and were heading for Stevenson Point, where a seal pup was reported in trouble. The seal wasn't far from the water, bit it looked quite sad and underweight. Nevertheless it squirmed plenty as Andy carried it up the slip, and wasn't keen to go into the box. We gave the seal fluids when we got it back to the swan hospital, which at this time of year should be called our seal centre. So now I am drinking hot chocolate, and entering this report not today but tomorrow, if you see what I mean..... |
| 28th August 2005 | seal |
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Sadly the seal with the hernia didn't make it. Good news though is that the tawny owls released 2 nights ago, return for food each evening. Some of them are waiting before we put out their food! Sometimes the commonest patients provide some interest, like the pink pigeon admitted today. No this isn't a new species, just a variety of the common street hawker frequently found in Paisley, in the vicinity of Ciba's pigment factory. Other pigeons are green and blue. |
| 26th August 2005 | seal |
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| The seal from Barassie beach has been a problem. Whenever we tried putting a tube down to give it fluids, a thick liquid came back up the tube. We thought it might have swallowed plastic, so today it went to the vet for x-rays and endoscope examination. The diagnosis is a diaphragmic hernia. It is undergoing surgery this evening. |
| 24th August 2005 | Busy day |
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Lots of activity at Hessilhead today. 30 young gulls were ringed, boxed and taken to be released at Troon harbour. The release team were lucky to see grey seals, black guillemots and a common tern. The hospital team were busy admitting 14 casualties. These included a merlin and a peregrine. Sadly the merlin had an unrepairable wing fracture. the peregrine is more promising. It has a badly infected hock joint, which can be treated with antibiotics. She is a big strong female bird, who has already begun to feed herself. Most of the time she lies down, resting her leg. We had just opened a tawny owl aviary, to release 5 tawny owls tonight, when we got a call about a seal in trouble on Barassie beach. The ladt who called had seen the seal earlier, and managed to pull it back into the sea. Now she had found it beached again, a sure sign that the seal was in trouble. She stayed beside the seal till we arrived, and we were puzzled. the seal was in good condition, really chunky, but its eyes told us it didn't feel well. |
| 21st August 2005 | Short-eared owl |
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| We had an unusual patient in today. Short-eared owls are unusual patients anyway, but one that perched on the hand of the person who brought it was quite odd. The people said they found the owl at the roadside 3 weeks ago, and it was tame. They had wanted to keep it as a pet, but of course that is illegal. We will now have to decide if the owl is tame, or if it is imprinted. Not knowing more about its story is making this difficult, but if the owl is imprinted it cannot be released. If it is tame, we may be able to hack it back. We will observe its behaviour over the next few weeks, and hopefully come to a decision. Meantime it is a wonderful opportunity to see such a spendid bird at close quarters. The edge of its facial disc is dazzling white, against a dark background. Hopefully one day it will return to the moorland where it belongs |
| 2nd August 2005 | Porpoise |
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| Years go by without us setting foot on Stevenson beach, and then we are there twice in one week. We were there at 8am this morning, following up a call about a stranded dolphin. In fact it was a porpoise, with a badly damaged fluke. We followed the rescue proceedure.... prop the animal in an upright position, keep it wet, cover with wet towels, keeep blow hole dry, shade from sun, and while we were doing this we were consulting expert vets around the country. Sadly the decision was taken to euthanase the porpoise. It was in good condition, so the fluke injury, which had in fact amputated almost half of the fluke, was the reason for it being beached. We could easily have refloated it, but what was the point of that if it couldn't survive. It was a sad end to the rescue, but the right one. |
| 20th August 2005 | oiled ducks |
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| Andy and two volunteers have just come back from Alexandria, having successfully captured 4 oiled mallards. The job was easier than it might have been, as these ducks have been in the habit of visiting a garden for food. Although oiled they confidently walked across the lawn as usual, and with a little persuasion walked in through the back door of the house, where capture was a certainty. We gave the ducks a lectade and charcoal soluntion, which will hopefully counteract any ill effects of the oil in their guts. They each got antibiotics too, and then resumed eating as if nothing had happened. Tomorrow they will go the SSPCA Wildlife Unit in Fife, where there are good facilities for cleaning oled birds |
| 19th August 2005 | another otter cub |
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| Andy and I have just had a few days away, finishing the trip at Ullapool where we collected another otter cub. This little female is a bit smaller than Tara, but apparently she is eating well. The journey back was eventful. The first problem was that when Andy put the key in the lock of the side door of the campervan, to load the otter cage easily, it broke! And for reasons that I won't go into, it was the only key we had with us. A call to the AA, promising a locksmith within the hour, resulted in a very helpful mechanic from the local garage. He managed to extract the half of key still stuck in the lock, and with the same pair of fine screwdrivers, he put it in the ignition and got us started. The nearest locksmith was in Inverness, and obviously there could be no stops on the way. At Inverness we had the same puzzled expressions, and the same question, 'Have you got a spare key?'. After more fiddling with screw drivers, the key was recovered and 20 minutes later a new one cut. Problems over, we headed for home. But the problems weren't over. Travelling down the A9, just passing Blair Atholl, our brakes failed. We came to a sudden, juddering hand brake stop at the end of a layby, and called the AA again. The telephonist seemed a bit surprised that we had not only a dog but an otter on board, but we didn't have to wait long for a breakdown truck that brought us all the way home! |
| 12th August 2005 | Seals, etc |
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Two of our sea pups, Scuddie and Milo, are self feeding now. On Monday a thrid seal came into care. Salty is a bit heavier than the first two, he has ulcers on his eyes, and doesn't like the taste of fish. He stubbornly refuses to open his mouth when Andy attempts to force feed him, and if Andy does get food in, he spits it straight back out. Today we resorted to blended fish through a tube. Hopefully we won't have to do this oftem but hopefully, with a full tummy, Salty will feel better, and may become a bit more co-operative. The last few days have been good for releases. More young gulls were taken to Troon, 3 hand reared common gulls were taken back to Faslane, 12 tawny owls have been released, and tonight we release a hedgehog and a black headed gull at Lochwinnoch. Next to go will be the eider ducks. they look really good. There was some sad news today when we heard that a peregrine, which was brought to us yesterday, would have to be put to sleep. Sadly, the bird had been 8 days ago, and someone had kept it without seeking attention for the broken wing. Without treatment, the bones had begun to callous out of line, and there was infection in the wing. If we had got the bird 8 days ago, it would probably have made a full recovery and returned to the wild |
| 11th August 2005 | Kingfisher |
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| We have had a kingfisher in care for the last few days. It was a cat victim, not badly injured, but with a few tail feathers missing. For some of our staff/volunteers, this was a first. Most were surprised at the timy size of the bird, and the really dazzling blue stripe along its back. The bird was hand fed small fish while in care, and gradually became more lively and inquisitive. Today it was ready for release, and we selected an attractive area of water on the RSPB Aird meadow bird reserve. As usally happens, we faced the kingfisher towards the release site, sparkling water, overhanging reeds, good population of small fish, what more could a kingfisher want. We don't know, but it flew towards the trees on the horizon, and disappeared above them!. Perhaps it was heading back where it came from. |
| 9th July 2005 | otter cub |
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| There were lots of ooohs and aahs today when Andy arrived home with an otter cub rescued rescued from Troon Marina. The cub had been seen the night before, swimming around and calling constantly. This morning it scrambled out of the water, exhausted and wet. It is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps 8 or 9 weeks old, the cub is in good condition, but had obviously got into trouble and no mother had responded to its cries for help. |
| 8th July 2005 | Otters/cuckoo |
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We have just returned from feeding the otters at their release site. It must be nearly 3 months now since they were released, but most nights one, two or all of them return for food. We are feeding the otters while the owners of their release site are on holiday, and it has been good to see them occasionally. This evening the smallest of the 3 came trotting up the drive after Andy had put the fish out. it stopped when it saw our car, but after just a moments hesitation it continued towards us, then went down the steps to the feeding station. The volunteers with us could clearly hear it chomping on the fish, and good views too. Today's most unusual arrival is a cuckoo. It is a young bird which flew into a window at GourocUse of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at /home/.sites/28/site163/web/hessilhead/cgi-bin/diary.pl line 43. Use of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at /home/.sites/28/site163/web/hessilhead/cgi-bin/diary.pl line 43. k. It was concussed, but tonight it is perching, which is a good sign. Hopefully it will soon be back in the wild. |
| 4th July 2005 | Releases |
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| It has been a good day for releases. 25 young gulls were taken to Troon, and 4 adult gulls, recovered from botulism, were released at Hessilhead. A mum and two baby hedgehogs had their enclosure opened, and an adult male kestrel was returned to Dalmellington. The 2 weasels released a couple of weeks ago still take food from the release site, but the first batch of kestrels released from a secluded aviary seem to have stopped coming back. Several of the young jackdaws released at Hessilhead have found our peanut feeders, and are developing the technique of tipping peanuts out. A cheeky hand reared robin, which has a slightly deformed foot, makes regular visits to the food preparation room where he finds titbits. Mallards are often seen flying from our wildfowl enclosures to the quarry pond, but just as often they are seen flying back! |
| 3rd July 2005 | No Luck finding more barn owls |
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We returned to the demolition site today, only to discover that the digger had been working again, the remaining walls flattened and much of the rubble scraped and moved around. Not a chance now of finding anything alive. The good news is that the barn owl chick has settled in with three other orphan barn owls. It it the oldest of the group, with flight feathers showing through the down. The 3 younger chicks look like large balls of cotton wall! Another 3 mallard ducklings rescued today, which must bring our total for the year to about 170. Whereever we walk around the centre, we meet young mallards on the paths. These fully grown youngsters have been released, and visit the quarry pond at feeding time. At other times they hang around here looking for hand outs. |
| 2nd July 2005 | Barn Owl home demolished |
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Sorry. The diary has not been updated for longer than I expected, due to an influx of more than 200 Uist hedgehogs, a really busy baby bird season, and a very successful Open Day. I have been prompted to return this evening by a feeling of despair. We were called out to rescue a barn owl. When we arrived we found that an old barn had been demilshed yesterday, and the person responsible knew that there was a barn owl nest inside. The pile of rubble looked, on a smaller scale, like the scene after an earthquake. A young owl had been spotted under a slab of concrete, and after some digging and heaving a four week old barn owl chick was pulled from the wreckage completely unharmed. It didn't seem possible. Sadly there must have been other chicks in the nest, and possibly swallow amd house martin nests too. We gave up searching as it became too dark to see. How sad that someone could deliberately cause such destruction. |
| 2nd July 2005 | Diary returns |
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| 2nd July 2005 | Diary returns |
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| 15th July 2005 | Back to Work |
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Andy and I spent today checking on the new patients which had arrived in our absence, and answering the phone. We are getting more and more calls about young gulls which have come off roofs, but which are still not flying. Most of these youngsters don't have a problem. there parents will continue to feed them. If they are in busy roads in the city centre, or other dangerous locations, we will take them into care. Otherwise we prefer to leave them with their parents. We already have over 120 young gulls in care. Space is limited, and the cost of rearing them considerable. And after all, the parents will do a better job of teaching their offspring to be independent. The otter cub is doing well. She is living outside now, and eating well. A few more kestrel chicks have come into care; their is a new swan which had a hook removed from its neck, and a new cygnet that had swallowed fishing line. The hot weather has caused several house martin nests to collapse, so hand feeding continues to take a lot of time in the hospital. the baby bats are thriving, and most of the hoglets are self feeding now. A new roe deer fawn was admitted today. She has some problems, but has already taken a little food. Fingers crossed |
| 22nd June 2005 | Children's Activity day |
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Today we had a small group of children studying mammals. They had a close encounter with Daffy the Badger, looked at footprints and a badger sett, cleaned out fox cubs, then prepared and delivered their food. Then it was time for indoor work in the hospital. There were 9 baby hedgehogs to weigh, weasels and a leveret to see, they watched baby bats feeding, then looked at a skulls and did a mammals quiz. The next Childrens Day will be on 5th August, when we will be looking at ducks, swans etc. Call or e-mail for more details. A Wildlife Awareness day will be held on 6th August. This will include first aid, transporting the casualty, handling and capture, examination. More details on request. |
| 14th June 2005 | Guillemot rescued on way home. |
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| Andy and I were returning from a few days away this morning. Driving past the Aonack Mor road end, north of Fort William, we were surprised to see a guillemot sitting in the middle of the road. We turned the van as soon as possible, by which time two cars had stopped, the drivers looking puzzled to see this sea bird waddling around the traffic island. We wrapped the guillemot, which was very lively, in a towel and stopped at the Corran Ferry slip. Other guillemots were flying up and down the coast. Ours toddled into the water, swam for a while then dived and shook and looked completely at home. Pleased to be back where he belonged. |
| 8th April 2005 | Raptors released |
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| Yesterday Helen took a buzzard back to Dalry. it had been found at the roadside three weeks ago, had always beena restless patient, and was pleased to be back in the wild. Today we released the peregrine, after flying it on a line to make sure it flew well. It was a treat to see it fly away powerfully, slowly climbing and circling. It was a very good weight, having been eating lots while in care. That should give it a day or two to get used to hunting. |
| 5th April 2005 | Uist Hedgehog Rescue |
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Andy and I have been away in the Uists for a few days. We took the equipment for this year's hedgehog rescue, and enjoyed some time exploring the islands. we were lucky to see golden eagles, hen harriers and short-eared owls, as well as several species of wader----all in the wild and looking fit and healthy! We found one hedgehog on the road at night, and brought it back with five others. All are now settled in the hospital while we find them release sites. |
| 29th April 2005 | Busy Week |
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The hospital is filling up with babies. A dozen balckbird chicks have been joined by two song thrushes and two mistle thrushes. the original mallard duckling is now half grown, and playing mother to 2 younger ducklings. there is another clutch of orphaned ducklings, and 11 with their mother.Mum had nested in a playground, and there was no way out for her and the little ones. We have 3 young tawny owls, and today the first young finches came into care. They became homeless when their tree was felled. Why don't people know that birds nest at this time of year! The fox cubs, 10 of them, have moved outside, so the hospital smells a bit fresher! the latest young mammal to arive is a leveret. She is feeding well, but someone had kept her for a week and fed her cow's milk. The only things that grow well on cow's milk are calves, so the leveret is a bit underweight. Hopefully she will catch up now. The Uist hedgehogs are keeping us really busy. We have already admitted just over 100, and rehomed most of them. We are expecting 60 more tomorrow evening, though our van was held up yesterday, when the ferry was cancelled due to Force 9 gales. |
| 19th April 2005 | First Tawny Owl chick |
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| New babies every day now. Last night another blackbird chick, today the first young tawny owl. He is a good chick, weighing 8oz, but at only 3 weeks old is a bit too young to be out of the nest. He is too young to perch, or to attempt to climb a tree to safety. He would have stayed huddled on the ground, and his chances of survival were slim. I am sure he will soon have company, and can look forward to returning to the wild in late summer. By then he will be able to hunt. |
| 17th April 2005 | Fox cubs |
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| 8 fox cubs in care now. the youngest have only just opened their eyes, the oldest is a chunky 5 weeks, and he has an almost white tail. Several times this week we have had calls from people who have foxes beneath their house, or under garden sheds. Some of the people want the foxes removed, but we won't do that at this time of year. It wouldn't be fair to disturb cubs as young as this. We ask people if they can put up with the disturbance for a few more weeks, then products such as Reynardine, Get Off my Garden or Scoot can be used to deter the foxes. These products smell unpleasant to foxes, and the family will leave. Much better that than separating Mum and cubs, and then having to find a suitable release site. |
| 16th April 2005 | Uist Hedgehogs |
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| It is 11.30pm, and we have just unloaded 39 hedgehogs rescued from the cull on the Uists. You should see them, exploring their new surroundings, noses twitching, sampling our food and making nests in old fleeces. Soon they will be moving to release sites in gardens. |
| 15th April 2005 | Red Squirrels |
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We collected two baby red squirrels this evening. The youngsters have had a traumatic 2 days. Yesterday their tree was felled, and one concussed baby found on the ground. This morning its brother was found too. it was lucky he had survived the night without the warmth of a nest and siblings. The squirrels were taken from Kirriemuir to Edinburgh, and hayley, one of our volunteers, collected them there, and brought them to Glasgow. Finally they arrived at Hessilhead, were eager to drink milk from a bottle, and have snuggled together in a woolly hat. They have their eyes open, so it shouldn't be long till they nibble nuts and fruit. Yesterday three blackbird chicks arrived, still in their nest, after a cat seriously injured their mother. All are feeding well. When their box is opened three beaks open wide, each hoping to get the first mouthful. Chicks soon learn that if they keep begging on begging, there is food for everyone. There are some advantages to being reared at Hessilhead! |
| 12th April 2005 | Baby update |
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The litter of 6 baby rabbits that arrived while I was on the Uists is doing really well. The volunteers took turns to feed them three times each day. Now they are eating rabbit mix, grass and vegetables, and bottle are reduced to morning and night. Soon they will be down to one milk feed, and ready for a move to outside. Fox cubs are doing well. Luke the oldest cub feeds himself, and doesn't like milk. The two mddle cubs are at an inbetween stage. Sometimes they guzzle all their milk, but sometimes they prefer to eat meat. the two smallest cubs, found really cold and wet in a wood last week, are thriving. They were always fat little cubs, and judging by the way they eat, they intend to stay that way. Soon they will learn to eat meat too. |
| 5th March 2005 | Late night/early morning |
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Yesterday was quiet till teatime, then there was a shag needing help in Catrine, and injured kestrel in kilmarnock, and the report of a swan unable to walk in Drybridge. Looking for the swan was a mini adventure, through a tunnel, over a footbridge, down a ladder and across a muddy field, with the light of a fading torch which hadn't been charged. And no swan to be seen. Finally the man who reported the swan appeared out of the darkness, and he couldn't see the swan either. He said it was last seen struggling towards the river, and must have made it there before we arrived. We agreed to return in daylight next morning. By the time we had returned home, finished the feeding and treated new patients it was late. I had been in bed 10 minutes when the phone rang at 1am. An injured deer was in custody in a Glasgow Police Office. When we arrived at the office, the police said they had just taken another call, about another injured deer, not far away. We went there first, but the deer was dead, apparently having been dragged along beneath a car. So we collected the fist deer, which has a broken leg, and drove home slowly. We splinted the leg, prepared a shed, gave antibiotics and treatment for shock, and enjoyed a hot chocolate before heading for bed....again. |
| 3rd March 2005 | Buzzard & Peregrine |
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The buzzard is hanging on. He has been on fluids for 24 hours, and just had his first small meal of meat. He is weak, lies down most of the time and puts up no resistence when handled. Fingers crossed. Today was busy. First to arrive was a weasel, courtesy of someone's cat. Then came a roe deer, courtesy of someone's dog. The deer was chased into a fence at Eglinton Country Park. It has serious neck injuries, similar to whiplash, and is badly concussed. We have managed to get her to drink some rehydration fluid. The excitement of the day was the arrival of what had been described as a small bird of prey. A farmer had put it in a box, and one of our helpers drove it to the Centre. When she arived, Moine explained that during the journey the bird had tried to get out of the box. Instinctively she had reached over to push down the lid, and a large talon grabbed her. So she drove the final miles with talons in her hand. 'That would be a bit uncomfortable,' I said, expecting the box to contain a kestrel. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box, lifted the towel and saw the heavily moustached head of a peregrine falcon. It must have been agony for Moine with its talons in her hand. Peregrines just don't come with a gentle grip! The falcon has a fractured wing, but we are hoping for a full recovery. |
| 26th March 2005 | more fox cubs |
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| It isn't often that wildlife comes to order. One of the first calls today reported 3 orphan fox cubs. They had been in care since yesterday lunchtime, having been found above ground by a Scottie dog. A lot of disturbance had taken place in the garden, and maybe the vixen would have moved the cubs. It was too late now to find out, and at only a few days old, these cubs need to be kept warm. It wouldn't be possible to leave them for long to see if their mother returned. it was good news for Guinness, the cub already in care. Now she has 2 sisters and a brother. |
| 25th March 2005 | test flights |
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It was a day for checking birds and a bat for release today. First there was the barn owl that was brought in late last Friday night. It is eating well now, and is really quite bad tempered. She flew well, but needs just a few more days to get stronger. The tawny owl that came in 2 days ago seems to have fully recovered from his accident. The person who found him is willing to come and release him close to where he was found, so he should be back in the wild soon. The final test flight was for a bat. The pipistrelle had been found by workman, and flicked to the ground. Fortunately someone was watching, and took the bat into care. This bat sleeps really soundly, and needs to be warmed up in the hand before it wakens, either to feed or fly. Slowly it comes to life, stretching and yawning. When it is almost ready for take off it starts to vibrate, and when released in the bat tunnel it flew perfectly. It will be collected tomorrow, and returned Dundee. |
| 23rd March 2005 | fox cub |
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Andy and I got back from a 2 day break to find the first fox cub of the season happily snuggled up in a cosy fleece on a heat pad. She had a full tummy and seemed perfectly content. Sadly the fox family had been accidentally disturbed. Mum had come back for 2 cubs, but this little one was left. Luckily someone cared enough to take her in, then drove her 35 miles to Hessilhead. Hopefully it won't be too long now till another cub comes into care. Once the cub's eyes are open she will become more active and playful. She will need a little playmate then. |
| 2nd March 2005 | Variety |
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The last couple of days have brought in a mixed bag of patients. There is swan, ring number 3BLS, who was staggered out of the water at Broadwood Loch, unable to use one of her legs. The vets are puzzled, as there is no sign of injury on an x-ray, but muscle wastage indicates that the problem has been affecting the swan for a while. She is back at Hessilhead now, taking gentle excercise on the pond, and stoically taking her medicine. A kestrel, a jackdaw and a guillemot came from the vets at the same time. You would wonder how a guillemot got to Falkirk! The kestrel has its wing pinned, the jackdaw's carpal fracture has healed well. Like all jackdaws this one is a character, and constantly hammers the back of its cage. If we don't move it out to an aviary tomorrow it will probably escape. It sounds like Bob the Bullder is at work in the hospital. A young herring gull with an elbow injury came from a vet at the east end of Glasgow, and a young pigeon from a vet at the west end. A hedgehog was found in a Bridge of Weir garden this morning. it was a hard frost, so if the hedgehog woke last night and went walk about, it would certainly have got cold and probably found no food. Or it may have been disturbed from its hiberantion nest. Either way, it seems content to be curled up on aheat pad. This evening a buzzard was handed in to Renfrew Police Office. The bird is seriously underweight, and has a foot infection. We have given it rehydration fluid by crop tube, a vitamin injection and left it on heat pad. I will be going to check on its progress soon. |
| 20th March 2005 | Late night call |
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It could have ben worse. Calls at 1.30 am are not nearly so bad as those at 3 or 4 am. The call was from the Police asking if we could help with a swan on the road at Bonhill. The 40 minute drive took nearly an hour due to fog, but the Police had kindly stayed with the cygnet, keeping it on the grass verge, out of danger. The cygnet had apparently hit wires earlier in the day, and had a severaly skinned and bloody beak. There is some swelling in the neck too, so it will stay at Hessilhead for a while. The morning brought a variety of patients, including a treecreeper which had been caught by a cat. It is a perky little bird, that started eating mealworms straight away. A hedgehog with a hind leg missing came next, no sign of a wound, but the hog looks like it has lost a lot of condition in hibernation. It really seemed to enjoy its rehydration fluid. A herring gull, a collared with canker and a blue tit completed the day's intake. Outside there were lesser black backed gulls back on the aviaries. I haven't seen a ring yet, but we are fairly sure that one of them is the same gull that took up residence here last year, and terrorised volunteers when they went near the young gull enclosure. Could be an entertaining summer! |
| 19th March 2005 | Late Night Arrival |
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A barn owl was brought in last night. It had been found on the road, almost certainly having ben hit by a car, and the people who picked it up were pleased to find somewhere prepared to treat the casualty straightaway. They had drawn a blank with vets and other organisations. The owl looked dreadful. Blood was trickling from its mouth, and the bird, though standing, was motionless. We quickly gave it antibiotics, put it in a box on a heat pad, and left it alone. It was still alive at midnight, but no change. This morning there was still blood, but not so much. I gave the bird fluids. At lunchtime the owl looked brighter, and at teatime I hand fed it. There was no more bleeding, what a relief. The odd thing about this owl was that it appeared to have been eating frogs before becoming an RTA victim. It's face was covered in masses of small black eggs.....frog eggs before they had been exposed to water and swelled to form the spawn. We didn't try to clean the owl's face last night, but today the eggs had dried, and were easily removed. Today someone wanted us to remove the frog spawn from his garden pond! Isn't that what garden ponds are for? |
| 16th March 2005 | RELEASES |
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| So far, this week has been good for releases. First a herring gull flew; he had been in care for 3 months, recovering from a shoulder injury. Saturday's common gull was released today. He came in with a fishing hook down his throat, and the barbs had come out through the skin. He still has disolvable stitches, but was very restless in care. Two blackbirds were released back in their own territories, and a barn owl was taken back to the far side of Beith. She was a lovely adult female in good condition. Hopefully her mate has hung around while her broken wing healed. Today a young swan was released on Castle Semple Loch. Soon it will be mugging visitors for bread! |
| 5th February 2005 | Territorial swans |
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More signs of spring today, in the form of fighting swans. First to arrive was a hefty male swan, rescued from the canal in Glasgow, having been attacked by the resident pair of swans. They had been trying to drown him, by each taking a turn at sitting on him and holding his head underwater. In his effort to escape up the canal bank he has broken toes and torn claws. He looked really dejected when he arrived here, but has cheered a up a bit with company in the swan hospital. We wonder how such a heavy swan had such a hard time. This afternoon it was the turn of some Paisley cygnets to bear the brunt of attacks by their parents. One flew off the canal, landed on the path, and was trying to get back thro the railings. That would have resulted in another attack, so we took it away and released it at Castle Semple Loch. The remaining cygnet was being bullied by dad, being chased rapidly up and down the length of the old section of canal, which the parents want back to themselves for the breeding season. We tried to attract the cygnet with bread, but he was so upset he wasn't interested in food. It must be really confusing for cygnets that have been protected by their parents for so long, to suddenly find themselves being hastled this way. There may well be more calls tomorrow about this cygnet. The third swan of the day came from Hogganfield loch. Not a territrial dispute this time, just a swan in poor condition, wet feathers and sore feet. |
| 4th February 2005 | unusual find in a garden |
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When the people phoned they said there was a duck in their garden, and we wondered if this was the start of the silly mallard season. When the casualty arrived we were surprised to see a goosander, and even more surprised to find it tangled in fishing line. the line had cut into the bird's wings, and flying would have been impossible. So it is a mystery how the goosander came to be in a garden away from water. Lucky it was found though, it could have been on the fox menu tonight. Have a look at this week's My Weekly, for some lovely photos of last spring's orphan birds and animals at Hessilhead. |
| 21st February 2005 | Poisoned bird recovers. |
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As soon as I got up this morning I checked the buzzard. There was no change, which was a surprise. We hadn't expected her to survive the night! We gave her more fluids and vitamins, and when I took her from the box at lunchtime, she managed to stand. It was a wobbly stand, and when she tried to scratch herself under the beak, she toppled over. Still, it was promising. By teatime the buzzard's box was dancing on the heatpad. It was difficult getting hold of the bird without her escaping from the box, and after only a few minutes in a cage I had to return her to the box. In the cage she was going frantic, desperate to be free. She was likely to damage feathers if I left her there. What an amazing recovery. This evening I hand fed her, twice, and tomorrow she will be released. Hopefully she won't find any more poison. (Tests are being carried out to try and indentify a poison, and relevant authorities have been notified of the incident) This evening's casualty was yet another swan. This one had grand ideas. It was found wandering up the drive to Turnberry Hotel, and we collected it from their linen room. It has an eye injury and swollen head, which may explain its aggressive behaviour. Given the chance, its grabs trouser legs and shakes. Or perhaps it is trying to point out that Turnberry was more upmarket than Hessilhead. But wait till it sees out indoor swan pond tomorrow! |
| 2nd February 2005 | Dolphins |
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| Andy and I decided to have a break today, and headed for Culzean Country Park. It was a perfect spring day, with birds in full song, reminding us that our busy season won't be long in coming. We were just about to leave the park, when Bill phoned. He'd had a call from the Coastguards, reporting two stranded dolphins at Girvan. We were heading for Girvan anyway, but went a bit quicker than usual! We arrived at the scene just in time to see the local vet up to his waist in water, pushing the smaller dolphin into deeper water. There seemed to be no reason for the mother and youngster to strand on a steeply sloping beach. They seemed disorientated for a while, swimming in tight circles. They stayed afloat for a surprisingly long time, but eventually the two headed out to see, and no more reports of them is good news. We would have liked a closer view of the pair, but we were pleased to see them back in the sea. |
| 20th February 2005 | Poisoning |
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| It wasn't a good end to the day. We were called out to collect a buzzard, which is in a collapsed state, and we believe, suffering from poisoning. This bird was lying in a field, next to a dead buzzard, which had been partly eaten. We don't hold out much hope for the live buzzard. We removed the food from its crop, flushed it out with water, and then gave her some rehydration fluids. As soon as we let go of head, it flops down. When we put the bird in a box she collapses. Even her eyes are closed all the time. We have left her on a heat pad, and will give her more fluids before bed time, if she lasts that long. What a waste of such handsome birds. |
| 12th February 2005 | Swans again, and how to help a deer. |
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It was a busy Saturday, which is par for the course when we are short of help. First to arrive was an MOD landrover, with an injured buzzard in the back. The next problem was a cygnet holding up traffic in Renfrew, follwed by a very sick fox in Clydebank, and a pigeon in Paisley. There was an afternoon lull, and late on we decided to release 2 swans at Castle Semple Loch. On the way home we got a call Strathclyde Fire Brigade 'Could we help with a swan stuck up a tree?' By the time we arrived in Dennistoun the swan was wearing a fireman's sweater, and was tucked up in the fire engine. Andy was disappointed. Still a little boy at heart, he was expecting to get up on the turn table ladder! Before leaving we noticed another swan trapped in the nearby school playing field. It was trying to get thro' the fence, back to the pond in Alexandra Park. As a small consolation the Firemen put ladders over the high fence, and Andy got to go and rescue the swan. We were 5 miles from home when we got a call to say a young deer had been hit by a car in Gateside. We were shocked when we arrived to find the deer lying in the road, and no-one had stopped with their car parked in front the it,hazards flashing, to prevent it from being hit again. This could also prevent an accident, as some people would automatically swerve when they saw a deer in the road. If you find an injured animal, please stay with it till help comes. If you put a jersey or jacket over a deer's head, it will keep it calm and reduce stress. Sadly the deer was too badly injured to save. |
| 7th January 2005 | Good day, bad day |
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Yesterday was great. First to be released was the robin that was admitted, appropriately, on Christmas day. He looked bad when he came, unable to stand, droopy and sad. He flew away in high spirits, pleased to be free. Then two swans were released at Castle Semple Loch. One has had its leg pinned, and it walked with barely a limp. The other came in as a more routine crash landing; but whatever the reason for a patient's stay, it is always a thrill to see them go. At Castle Semple swans hang around the car park, waiting for food. So newly released swans soon feel at home. Later in the day Andy returned a swan to Broadwood at Cumbernauld. That was the swan with lots of line round its beak and down its throat. It had gained weight at Hessilhead, and was looking good. Today wasn't so good. When we re-examined the cormorant that came in a few days ago, we found a fractured femur. Today the vet discovered it had been shot, probably about two weeks ago. The bone was shattered and the broken ends badly displaced. It couldn't be pinned, and there was also much necrotic tissue. It is always sad when a patient has to be euthanased, but much more so when the injury wasn't the result of an accident, but had been done deliberately by man. |
| 4th January 2005 | Swans |
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We didn't think we would get far into the year without our first swan patients. This morning we collected a cygnet from Auchenharvie Golf course. It was being kept off the water by an adult pair of swans, and with blood in its beak, may have been attacked, or crash landed in last night's gales. Locals who feed the swans were worried about its safety, as another cygnet was found dead there this morning. Rumour has it that this bird was killed by the dominant pair. We'll see what the post mortem reveals. The next swan came from Airdrie, with serious burns on its face and beak. We have seen burns such as these over the past two years. Some swans have them on the upper surface of their feet as well. The cause is a mystery. The feathers of the bird are never damaged, and if the swan has walked through some caustic substance the burns should be on the under side of the feet. If anyone has any ideas we'd be pleased to hear them. |
| 31st January 2005 | swan on roof |
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| It isn't the first time we've had to rescue a swan from the roof of a building. This time the swan had crash landed on Aldi's roof in Saltcoats. No doubt it was heading for the boating pond. Luckily the roof sloped gently, and with an injured leg, the swan was reluctnat to move. With help from the guy who called us out, Andy soon had the swan captured and on its way back to Hessilhead. |
| 3rd January 2005 | Sea Birds |
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