Ilkeston Wild Bird Rescue

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Ilkeston Wild Bird Rescue

Ilkeston Wild Bird Rescue Rescue, rehabilitate and release.

30/03/2025

Today has been chaos, the busiest day of the year yet. It has been a day of taking new admissions, cropfeeding, handfeeding cleaning out, bathing wounds, giving meds, and sorting aviaries. I am beyond exhausted and so grateful it's bedtime. 😅

Here are two of the many that came in today.
The first being a young pigeon who has been scalped, we believe by a magpie. He came in all cozy and warm already, so we could treat and feed him immediately. (You must always warm a cold bird up before giving fluids/food).
He's had pain meds, has been cropfed, and is settled down resting for the night in a little towel doughnut. (He was too big for my baby nests, and so a towel in a doughnut shape was the perfect thing for him).
Although this injury looks terrible, pigeons heal extremely quickly. In a couple of weeks' time, he'll look like nothing happened to him.
We will handrear and wean him, and then he'll join our release aviary with others, before eventually being released into the big wide world again. 🥹

This sweet male mallard isn't going to be as easy as our little pigeon.
His beak is broken, and he has no use of the bottom of it at all. He's not able to eat unaided, and was desperate for food when we started to handfeed him.
As long as the food is put towards the back of his mouth, he's able to swallow it. He's had scrambled egg, rocket, and soaked duck pellets so far today and gobbled it down quickly.
He's going to need an x-ray to see if there's a way to fix his beak using interfragmentary wiring, which would be done by a vet under an anaesthetic. For now, he's being an amazing patient and is more than happy to eat anything offered. 💕

I also want to thank my husband and kids for being so patient and understanding. I've barely had any time with them today, and they haven't complained once. 🥹
Thank you for the never-ending support you give me in following my dreams and trying to make a difference in the world. ❤️

30/03/2025

This young crow was brought to us yesterday while we were volunteering at another rescue. He was found grounded, and so picked up by a lovely couple who took him home and gave him some food before messaging us and driving him over.
He is emaciated and absolutely infested with mites. Holding him for 30 seconds left us covered in them.
My amazing friend Jay, who's a crow specialist, had a look at him and suggested 'wet canker', as he had a slimy mucous in his mouth. (Wet canker is internal, so it isn't seen the same as it's seen in pigeons).
We offered food last night, and he nibbled a strawberry but wouldn't eat anything else.
We treated him with Moxidectin for parasites once we arrived home.
This morning, we found him lifeless in his carrier. We made a mixture with formula and carefully got some of that into him with a tube. (To ensure it passed his airway). After the fluids, he livened up a fair bit, but was still refusing food.
I am now handfeeding him every 2 hours, as little and often is best with wet canker patients. He's started on Ronidazole for the canker this morning, and will be having metronidazole tonight. We're keeping everything crossed that this little guy will pull through. He's still only young, one of last years babies, and should still have his whole life in front of him. 🥺💕

30/03/2025

This beautiful female blackbird came into us last week, after it was suspected she'd been hit by a car. One of our volunteers went out to catch her, but she managed to escape them, going out of reach.
She was later caught by the lady who originally found her, and she was driven over to us.
She had a wing injury, a head injury, a mouth full of blood, and had already aspirated on her own blood.
We could hear the fluid in her lungs with every breath she took.
When fluid goes down into a birds lungs, it leads to aspiration pneumonia. (That's if it doesn't kill them instantly).
We got her started on antibiotics immediately to give her the best chance, even though I knew she probably had about a 1% survival rate, and most likely wouldn't make the night.
To my surprise, the next morning, she was upright and more active. I offered mealworms, and she ate them. She found her water and was happy to drink by herself. She became more active throughout the day and started perching again. Look at her now!
She still has a long way to go with healing, but she's doing so well.
It's an absolute miracle that she survived. She was in such a bad way on admission, laid down gasping with the clicking and crackling in her lungs.
It just goes to show that there is always hope, and they always deserve a chance. 💕

30/03/2025

This gorgeous fella came in at the beginning of the week, after being found hanging upside down by one leg. His rescuer freed him and tried to release him, but he wouldn't move. It was discovered that he had a stiff right leg, which was clearly painful. He was brought to us and received Metacam on admission. A few hours later, he was back to standing on both feet.
Today, he is back to being a typical buzzard, and we'll be releasing him in a couple of days, back to where he was found.
It's great to have a happy ending after the previous buzzard that we sadly couldn't save. 💕

Apologies to anyone whose messages I've missed. It's been a chaotic fortnight, and we've spent some time volunteering at other rescues, meaning we may have missed messages or had passed the info on to someone else but not replied.

If you're able to donate towards the ever rising costs of food, medication, bedding and vet bills, we appreciate it so much. Thank You. 🙏

https://www.paypal.me/RiversWBRescue

19/03/2025

Please don't use glue traps. 🥺
This little guy was brought in earlier after being found in a bad way.
He is completely coated in glue from a glue trap, with a part of the glue trap still attached. His legs and wings were solidly stuck, and he has sores and patches of missing feathers where he must have fought his way off of it.
We gave him a long bath, where we used toothbrushes and various products to start cleaning the glue off.
We got some off, but it's going to be a long journey to remove all of it, get some weight on him, and have him healthy again. 💕

If anyone would like to donate towards the rescue and the ongoing care of our beautiful birds, thank you. 😊

https://www.paypal.me/RiversWBRescue

18/03/2025

After the buzzard yesterday, we were feeling very down and discouraged, wondering how we were going to cope with these losses for the rest of the year. We were just going to bed when we got a message about a female duck that was injured and needed some help. I spoke to a lovely guy named Tim, who drove all the way to us with this little Duck. He was an incredible human being, and had an amazing story to tell in relation to Mallards, and how they gave him faith that things would get better. Meeting him and talking to him made such a difference to our day, and definitely to this sweet girl named Hope by her rescuer. 🥹
We're not entirely sure what happened to Hope, although it was thought that she may have been hit by a car while being harassed by 2 male mallards. (If you know ducks, you know how awful the females have it at this time of year).
Hope has a single break to her tibiotarsus. Her leg has been splinted and wrapped in the correct position to give her the best chance at a full recovery. Birds heal extremely quickly and can mend broken bones in as little as 4 weeks.
Hope is currently receiving Metacam for pain relief, and will receive physiotherapy as part of her recovery. 💕

I'd also like to thank anyone who has donated to us recently. It's really appreciated and helps us to keep helping more birds in need. 😊

17/03/2025

Days like today are the most difficult in rescue.
We had this absolutely beautiful buzzard come in after being found in a ditch. He had been hit by car and left for days.
A lovely man found him and took care of him until he was brought into us.
Sadly, he needed help sooner than he made it to us. He had 2 breaks in his right wing, with exposed bone, and it was badly infected already. I reached out to rescues and rehabbers who are more experienced with Buzzards to seek advice, and the consensus was that there wasn't anything we could do to save his wing.
We contacted Ilkeston Ambivets, and they agreed to see him straight away. We saw a lovely vet who took him in and did an examination, but sadly agreed that the wing couldn't be saved.
It's never ever the outcome we want, but we have to be ethical and consider what's best for the bird. A disabled buzzard in captivity wouldn't be fair at all. There would be no quality of life. He was so scared of everything and would have suffered immensely. 🥺
Thank you to the wonderful vet who welcomed him in and put him to rest.
I'm so sorry we couldn't save you, sweet bird. 😢💕

16/03/2025

Introducing 'The three croweteers'.
We're currently fostering these 3 lovely crows while their new aviary is being built in Sheffield, where they'll be moving to long term very soon.

The first crow is Sam. He (possibly she) was taken in 2 years ago after being found as a youngster and had a leg and wing injury.
Sam's caretaker unfortunately couldn't keep him due to personal circumstances, and also wanted him to join other crows and find himself a mate. So she made the hard choice to let him go, after searching for the right home for a long time.
He is an absolutely stunning bird. Beautiful, healthy, feather perfect, confident, and cheeky. He's in amazing condition and has been so very well cared for. ❤️

Our second crow, who was named Russell, didn't have the same luck as Sam.
He was sadly kept in a dog crate inside a garage for 6 months, only being fed dog meat. He imprinted on his human, and was very difficult to get to stay in the aviary and not run straight back out to us every time we tried to close the door.
He is in such an awful state. He's lost his entire tail and his flight feathers. He was bathed before being brought to us, and the water was that dirty, it had to be changed halfway through his bath, as he was a mass of dog food and poo.
On arrival, he was terrified of everything, didn't want to be held, but didn't want to be left. After having the day to settle in, he slowly gained confidence and hopped his way up to the higher perches to sit with Sam, which we were all so pleased to see. He's gained even more confidence since yesterday and is eating well. (Lots of food he's never had the chance to try). 🥹

Our third crow doesn't yet have a name, and we don't have much history on him, other than he was found by someone who took him in towards Sheffield. He has a wing injury, and his finder tried their best to strap the wing. I'm unsure how long he was with his finder before being picked up and brought into rescue. He's very thin and very scared, and although he's eating, he's spending his time hiding on the floor, and hasn't yet tried to venture higher up, or interact with Sam and Russell. We're hoping that as he settles in, he'll gain the confidence to start exploring and interacting with his new group before he moves on in his journey. 💕

11/03/2025

This lovey adult woody was brought in yesterday. His rescuer was unsure of what happened to him, but it's suspected that he had been hit by a car.
Upon first seeing his wing, we didn't think he had any chance of recovery. It was a mess and was already badly infected.
We gave him some metacam for pain relief and some antibiotics, and then went back to him to give his wing a good clean and see if there was anything at all we could do.
During his bath, he decided to try and take off. Somehow, flapping and having control of both wings.
We knew then he was a little fighter, and although it looks awful, there is a chance he can recover.
He's had his wound bathed again this morning, had some more pain relief and antibiotics, and is even brighter today.
He's eating and drinking well and will now have a quiet day to rest, away from all of the chaos. 🤞💕

If anyone would like to donate towards medication, I'll drop our PayPal here.

https://www.paypal.me/RiversWBRescue

Thank you so much from us and all of the birds. We couldn't do it without you all. ❤️

09/03/2025

I know I'm going to get complaints about posting about cats..
But here we are.

This poor collared dove was brought to us earlier, I wasn't expecting her and don't know who it was that brought her, so sadly can't update.
She was found after being savaged by a cat. When she was handed over to me, I was covered in blood within seconds. She had multiple wounds to both sides of her body, both wings, her back.
One wing was snapped with exposed bone. It wasn't repairable, even if she had made it.
She was given pain relief and antibiotics immediately but sadly passed away 30 minutes later.

We don't talk about the emotional trauma we go through doing this. It's absolutely soul destroying to cradle a bird while it's dying, knowing there's nothing at all you can do to save them.
This could have been avoided. She may have had eggs or even babies waiting in a nest for her, which sadly now will most likely die too.

Please, please keep your cats inside, or in some sort of catio. Especially during breeding season.
They have enough enemies in the world without people adding to it.

Sometimes, I honestly think I'm too sensitive and emotionally involved to do this, and it's only just beginning for this year. 😩💕

07/03/2025

Love is in the air!

Not only with our disabled pigeons, Chance and Hope, but also in the wild with pigeons and doves everywhere.
Lots of rescues have taken in baby pigeons today, surprisingly from rentakill, and a solar panel company.
If you know a person or a company that's planning on removing baby pigeons, please please ask them to contact us. We will take any and all baby pigeons that are being evicted from solar panels or similar circumstances.
Last year, there were a few occasions where baby pigeons were thrown from the roof or left in a skip. Please just reach out to us, and we will help. They deserve a chance at life, and we are more than willing to give them that. 💕

04/03/2025

This beautiful wood pigeon is Bradley.
Bradley was found and brought over to us this afternoon after being attacked by a cat. He has a nasty injury to his face, neck, back, and the top of his wing. The wound wasn't fresh, and was already starting to smell, and we believe him to have paratyphoid, too.
On admission, he was lethargic and very stressed. We gave him some pain relief and antibiotics for the Cat saliva, quickly cleaned, treated, and wrapped the wound, and left him to settle.
The 2nd picture is from an hour after admission, and he was clearly already feeling a lot better. 😊💕

04/03/2025

This little one is called Mabel. We were messaged this morning about an injured pigeon on Bath Street. The lovely lady at Mabels1902 saw him, messaged us, and then got him safely into a box while she waited for us to collect him, as people were almost trampling on him. He has multiple injuries to both sides of his body. One side is a wing injury that should heal well, and the other is a huge wound to his leg. We believe this to be a SparrowHawk attack, as this is typically the injury you would see. I don't know how little Mabel escaped, but he's a very lucky bird.
We gave pain relief on admission and have started a course of antibiotics for the wounds. We cleaned and treated the wounds, and then carefully covered the large one, as flystrike is a worry. We'll clean and change the dressing a couple of times a day to ensure it heals properly.
Mabel is a very lively and friendly bird, and has been a star patient so far.
Thank you so much to the lady from Mabels who did all she could to care for and keep him safe until he was collected.
We wish more businesses cared the way they did. It costs nothing to be kind. 💕

02/03/2025

Here are some of the pigeons we've taken over the last couple of weeks for soft release. (Plus, a couple I handreared that are almost ready for release).
Some are from Sheffield, some are from Doncaster, and some are from Leeds.
We like to offer soft-release to other rescues around England, and although we're currently at capacity in the release aviary, we will have spaces coming up in the future for anyone who might need them. 😊💕

02/03/2025

This poor crow was found at the side of a road after being hit by a car and left. He was rushed straight to us, and was given pain relief immediately. He had no use of his legs, and all he could do was roll from side to side. He passed away soon after admission, as we were trying to sort an emergency vet appointment. 🥺

Please, if you hit a bird, don't just leave it there. Please stop and get it to a vet or a rescue asap. We have no idea how long he was left there suffering. 😔💕

02/03/2025

These 3 beauties are Houdini, Felix, and Fleck.
Last year, I met someone wonderful through rescue work, who wanted to learn more and get into rehabbing pigeons, after saving them for many years and getting them to rescues.
She has been doing an absolutely wonderful job and gives up what free time she has to take care of the pigeons in Nottingham. Doing stringfooting herself on work breaks or after work, and always taking poorly ones home before arranging to bring them in, if their needs or illnesses are more complex.
She's welcomed any sort of training and has become more confident as time goes by. Even learning how to cropfeed formula and give critical care to those that need it, which has saved many lives already.

These 3 beautiful pigeons are with us for soft release now, after she spent months nursing them back to health, without being sure they'd be able to be released again.
She's amazing, and I'm proud to say that not only is she now a part of Ilkeston Wild Bird Rescue, but she is also now a close and trusted friend.
Don't ever doubt yourself Colleen, you're doing an incredible job. 💕

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This little sweetheart is such an amazing reminder of why we do this. He was found last night after being hit by a car. He was rushed to us from Oakwood by the lovely Trudi. On admission, we suspected either spinal or hip injuries, as well as internal bleeding. He was throwing himself around as best he could, wasn't mentally with us, it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch. We gave him Metacam on admission, and got 1ml of formula an hour into him until late. After the first hour, he was so much more stable, and I had hope, although he had no use of his legs. Couldn't stand up at all. I hated seeing him in the state he was in, but I knew I needed to give him a chance, knowing that if he was the same this morning, a trip to the vets would be needed, which is never the outcome we want for any bird. I got up this morning and went straight down to him, expecting him to have passed away. Instead, he was hopping around his enclosure like nothing had ever happened to him. He ate as soon as food was offered, and is eating and drinking well now. I'm going to give him a few more days to recover, and then I'm going to free up an aviary for him to have a more suitable environment to build his strength back up before release. It's amazing what a little time, love, and care (and the correct medication) can do. We do love a happy ending. 💕

Good evening all. Just wanted to share this absolute sweetheart. Our first Gull of the Year. 😊 He came in to us on Monday evening. Although we're unsure what happened to him, he was showing symptoms of head trauma. He has no obvious injuries, but we do believe he had flown into something, as he was unresponsive and with a head tremor. We gave fluids and offered food and left him to rest for the night in the warmth. (You have to be very careful warming a bird up if they've suffered head trauma, so a heatpad wasn't an option, but a warm room was). By morning, he was jumping around that much, that the carrier was moving across the floor. We spent the day emptying out our small aviary that we had used for disabled feral pigeons and set it up for him instead. We tried alsorts of food that we know gulls love, but he wasn't eating. Then, I offered a mackerel loin, and he pretty much ate it whole. He turned down tuna, liver pate, cat, and dog meat amongst other food, but we finally won him over. 😅 The second part of the video is him 24 hours after coming in. Look at that difference! Today, he has spent his time running around his pen, bathing, preening, bathing some more, eating all the mackerel he can find, and then biting me and chasing me off when I'm putting more food in for him. 🤣 He's an amazing little character! He still isn't flying yet, though, so he has a little more time with us before he's recovered enough to fly free again, and going by his attitude, he can't wait. 🤣 💕

I was delightfully surprised to receive this baby pigeon earlier. Travelled all the way from Sheffield. He's now halfway out of the egg, but we're monitoring him in case he does have any difficulties. It's moments like this that we're glad to always have an incubator set up and ready to go. We don't know if he'll make it, but this is way too precious not to share. 🥹💕

This absolutely precious baby called Knuckles was rescued by a lovely little lad called Oscar. He fell from the roof of a house onto a bin, along with his sibling, who was sadly already deceased. His rescuers got him nice and comfy with a heatpad and put him in the airing cupboard to keep him warm while they found help. He came in last night, ate lots, had a good first night in the incubator, and was ready to start eating as soon as it started getting light. He is the tiniest little bird I think I've ever seen, and we believe him to be a finch of some sort, but aren't 100%. We'll know for sure as he gets older. 🤞 for this little baby, we're so full of hope that he'll make it, and look forward to seeing him grow and change. 💕

UPDATE: A lot of people have been asking about our little pigeon that was deliberately kicked by a 'person'. He came in with his head swollen, his eyes swollen bigger than I've ever seen, a beak injury. He was starving, cold, and wet. Absolutely petrified of us. I didn't think he'd pull through. Not with what he had done to him. But two days of love and nursing. Two days of tubefeeds, pain relief, heatpads, reassurance, and gentleness, two amazing days of loving this little guy, and look at him now. He runs to my hand now instead of cowering away, he's preening himself, and he's attempting to eat again. I didn't think he'd ever recover, but just look at him. I named him 'Journey' in the hope he would recover and still have a journey through life to make, and I'm hopeful that we'll stay a part of each others journey for a long time. 💕

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