We have some engineering works taking place today which may cause us to lose power and phone lines throughout the day. Our apologises in advance for any delays this may cause. ...
Yesterday rescuers Jan and Ellie were called out to rescue a sparrowhawk caught between an aviary and a fence panel in Heathfield.
The bird of prey was stuck in the narrow gap only able to move a short distance, whilst the budgies in the aviary merrily went about their business unimpressed with the sparrowhawk's efforts to escape.
The rescue was difficult with very limited and restrictive access to the bird. It was soon clear that the only way to free the bird would be to cut the aviary mesh. At the same time rescuers had to be careful not to release the bird of prey into the aviary to chase and frighten the budgies as well as not to cause any budgies to escape into the wild.
Rescuers don't generally wear thick gloves when handling these smaller birds of prey, and the ability to feel what you are doing is important in rescue situations or you risk a bird escaping. On this occasion Jan regretted not wearing thicker gloves when the sparrowhawk dug one of its talons into her finger! Occupational hazard!
The bird was soon rescued and taken to WRAS's Casualty Centre for a check over and is expected to be released soon.
Please help us attend more rescues like these and help our wildlife. Your donation can make such a difference!
Reg Charity 1108880 www.wildlifeambulance.org ...
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Last year, when we released our final young swifts of the season in mid August, ready for them to begin their migration, we didn't expect to see another in 2022. We were only to surprised to recieve a call on 30th October to a grounded swift in Peacehaven.
Not only was this extremely late in the year for a swift to be in the UK. It also turned out he was a pallid swift who is a rare visitor to the U.K. They breed in Southern Europe and as there had been an influx in sightings when he was found it was believed the warm weather and winds had brought them off course.
He was very underweight for his size and exhausted but luckily uninjured.
After just a short stay with tlc and feeding up on the specialist diet and him becoming a good weight, with mild weather forecasted it was time to release and give them a 2nd chance in the wild. ...
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