A little update on Squirmy.
Andrew said that he was released yesterday into a soft release area and then came back in for food after letting off steam!
Isn’t he gorgeous 💛
This is Caroline. Found in a bush in a garden in Hockwold on 29th June the finders popped her round to me. She was underweight when she arrived and needed to be rehydrated a little. She settled in well, and after quarantine she joined 2 other swiftlets in a knitted nest. Many swifts don’t/wont gape for food and are much more difficult to feed but Caroline was always very happy to see a cricket on the end of a pair of tweezers coming towards her. She put on lots of weight going from 28g to 49g before she started to cut down on food so she could get to her optimum flying weight. They are such clever birds they naturally know what they need to do. On release, she took quite a dip on leaving my hand and skimmed the ground - worried me some - but she was soon up and away and was joined a few moments later when 2 other swifts swooped in from nowhere and joined her.
Swallows x 3
The swallows were taken out to be released on 20th June. The first one went off quite quickly and spent quite a bit of time flying low to the ground around where we were. The second took a bit more persuading but I think when it realised how much fun its sibling was having it decided to join it. The third however, just wasn’t ready. So home it came where it spent the next few days in its net enclosure building up its wing strength until it was later released on the 24th June.
Housemartins from Stowe
2 more housemartin chicks rehabbed and released. These 2 were from a nest collapse. After being checked over for injuries, they were warmed up and rehydrated before being fed. After practising their flying in a safe, soft enclosure they were ready to go.
Swallow 2
The second swallow didn’t seem in such a rush to get going but after spotting its friend in the air he changed his mind. We then saw them meet up and fly and swoop together. A lovely sight
Swallow 1
As you can see this one was very keen to be off
Felixstowe Housemartins
These are the three housemartins that came out from Felixstowe. 2 arrived one day and the next came the following day. The nest had partly collapsed and these poor little ones fell out.
If you ever find any housemartins on the ground please contact a rehabber as soon as possible. Pop them in an aerated box with something soft in the bottom and keep them safe until you have spoken to a rehabber that deals with these birds. Please never throw them in the air or try to feed them.
Lots of information and help can be found here: https://housemartinconservation.com/
Fly well Charlie. 💚
Charlie came to me on the 18th June after being found laying upside down on the ground. All appeared ok except the fact that he/she couldn’t fly. When I tried to release, Charlie just plopped to the ground. It was checked for wing fractures but there was nothing obvious. I did notice though, on the second attempt at release, that Charlie was also twisting its back end in a strange way. I had a swift like this once before so started doing the same as I did then, which was to massage Charlie’s back and rear each time I fed.
Then I got up one morning to find a stool with blood in it, in his/her enclosure. Very worried I asked the opinions of a number of other swift rehabbers. None had experienced this before but it was suggested that perhaps Charlie had been egg bound and that it was possibly an embryo and that she would perhaps feel better now it had passed (?).
Anyway, I kept an extra careful eye on ‘her’ and continued with the massaging each time I fed her. A few days later and no more bloody stools, eating fine, looking bright and alert, moving around her enclosure = time for another release attempt. So out we went.
I stood on some grass so there would be a softer landing if she did plop again but no, off she went and she flew higher and higher.
Hopefully she’s now back in her Suffolk home telling her friends of her adventure.
WARNING: SAD CONTENT. This lovely young blackbird was the only survivor of a nest raid. A magpie unfortunately killed the mother and 2 siblings. This one was rescued by the home owners when it fell from the nest. It’s a sweet little thing and is doing fine at the moment.
Rabbit
Sadly, 2 of the siblings died but this one - which was the smallest - did very well and was able to be released.
Blackcaps
Off they went, very quickly but not very far. I’d taken some other species to be released too, so just waited and watched for a little while to make sure they weren’t going to just stay on the ground. After 10 minutes or so, one flitted up into a nearby bush. The other took a little longer but did eventually join its sibling. It’s like watching your children go off for the first time and wanting to make sure they are safe and where they should be before you leave. Most birds I release, fly off into the skies or go to a tree etc. but when they land on the ground there is always that worry that they aren’t actually ready for release yet, so sometimes a little patience and watching and waiting is necessary.
Sparrow
It didn’t look good when it came in but thankfully made a full recovery and I was able to release it. Then it dived straight into a bush! Oh no, I though, it’s not quite ready. I went round to recover it, it looked at me, then it flew straight up, out and off! Fly safe little one.
Sparrow
This little sparrow came in after flying into a window. It really wasn’t in a good way but the finder followed the advices and placed it in a box with air holes and something soft for it to lay on then kindly drive it straight out to me.
I gave it some anti-inflammatory pain relief and popped it into one of our knitted nests, on a heat pad, in the dark and quiet. I kept checking it and the next day it was sitting up in the corner. I gave it a little more medicine and some fluids and left it to recover further. Later that day it was flapping about and had drank and eaten food on its own.
Clyde
Here he is enjoying the water and then the freedom of the skies. He flew around for a bit, surveying the area, before landing back on the water. There are lots of ducks on this stretch and in the area so Clyde will be in good company.
And she’s off. We did see her come back round, gliding about and then met up with three other swifts in the air. She will be off back to Newmarket now to meet up with her mate and hopefully should be joined by some babies sometime in June 🤞#thewildlifelounge #swift
Yesterday (Friday) Squirmy accompanied lovely Katie on her journey North. She stopped a few times and when she topped up his food he knew exactly what to do. Thank you very much Katie for taking him on probably the longest road trip he will ever go on and thanks to Andrew for agreeing to continue his rehab. I was sad to see him go and obviously there are no guarantees but I think he stands his best chance with the great people at Mustelid Rescue UK.
Squirmy being vocal about wanting his breakfast before his big trip.
So, Squirmy hasn’t gone on his road trip today after all. He has been eating fine (as you can see from the video) however sadly he didn’t eat much last night and has not been interested in food today. This unfortunately is not a good sign. Often, as with most wildlife, if the parents know there is something wrong with their young, they will abandon them, throw them out of the nest etc. There is always the chance that this is the case with young wildlife that is found and could also be the reason Squirmy was found alone on the ground. After talking with Andrew at Mustelid Rescue it has been decided that Squirmy stays with me for at least the next 24/48 hours. The journey from Feltwell to Cumbria is a 6 hour round trip for both Jessi (the lovely volunteer who offered to drive him) and for Andrew. Not that we consider it would be a wasted journey, but at this stage there is no more that Andrew could do than I am already doing. Hopefully it’s just a little hiccup in Squirmys recovery but unless he starts eating there is very little that can be done. Fingers crossed that in a couple of days I will be looking again to see if any kind person could help with his travel. 🤞🤞🤞#squirmy #stoat #thewildlifelounge
Clyde
Just a quick update. The reason I went into hospital was to have a full knee replacement - so no sangria! A big thank you though to all the nursing and care staff who were really lovely.
Unfortunately there were a few issues following the procedure and I am still struggling and in quite a lot of pain so am not taking any wildlife at the moment.
However, when I went to physio a couple of weeks ago, I did come home with a duck! The staff think the poor guy had been clipped by a car and was then being picked on by the other ducks. They had put him in a box and were trying to get him help - so home he came with us.
Luckily he had no broken bones just lots of bruising, so we are now both doing physio - although he also gets some hydrotherapy (well sort of😂).
Here his Clyde doing his exercises - he’s improving every day.
