With a greater public interest in birds of prey, many more wild birds of prey that would probably have died naturally, are found and taken to people who care for such birds for rehabilitation. More bird hospitals and sanctuaries are therefore coming into existence. Most, but not all, are started with all the right intentions and by very dedicated people. However, it is very easy for things to get out of control as the public get to hear of centres and more and more birds get brought in to be cared for. I would like people to think very carefully about what they are doing with injured wild birds and ask them, as I ask myself, to look very hard at each case. True conservation of the species should be the first consideration, welfare and quality of life for the individual birds the second and one’s own pleasure and self gratification only last.
The NBoP Centre takes in up to one hundred injured wild birds of prey each year. The numbers have increased greatly over the twenty-two years that we have been in existence, mainly because we have become better known. It is interesting though, because it: seems that one can almost tell when certain species are on the increase in the wild, by the number of injured individuals of that species brought in. All injured birds of prey are accepted here, not because we particularly wish to run a bird hospital, but because being so close to the public, it would be wrong not to accept and care for these birds, and accept the decisions for the people who bring them in.
We have had people phone up in the early hours of the morning because they have found a sick bird of prey and want to help it and don’t know what to do. One lorry driver phoned late in the evening almost in tears because he had hit an owl and could not find anyone who would help him. He had been turned away by the RSPB who will not take in injured wild birds, the police who couldn’t help him and the RSPCA who do normally help but had at the time got the answerphone on. He drove a hundred miles out of his way to deliver this owl at about lam.
We and many other people who accept injured birds have numerous stories of the efforts that the British public will go to to help injured wildlife. And I get a great feeling of pride to live in a country with so many people who will put themselves out to such a degree. It also shows a rising concern in conservation, which is very pleasing. Many people get so interested they will phone again to see how the bird is getting on. But, for those people who accept these birds and care for them, common sense and kindness should come before overriding feelings of, sometimes misplaced, affection.
Now I know that some of the statements I am going to make in this chapter will upset some people and will make me appear very uncaring for injured wild birds of prey. This is definitely not true. There are few people now caring for birds of prey who were literally brought up from the cradle with them, taught from a very early age to care for and respect wildlife in general and birds of prey in particular, as I was. As I have said before, they are so much a part of my own life that they come before everything else, as can be seen by the style of life I lead. I have never been able to physically kill a bird of prey, that is either hit it on the head or throw it against a wall as some vets suggest as a form of euthanasia. I once had to shoot a horrifically injured baby Tawny Owl as it was the only method of killing it quickly that I had to hand, and that I could summon up the courage to manage. I have never forgotten it and can describe it vividly to this very day, eleven years on. I don’t think that anyone can justly accuse me of not caring. But there is a vast difference between caring and over sentimentality.
There are some people who will save the life of an injured bird regardless of the resulting quality of life. Anyone seriously wanting to care for injured wild birds cannot afford to be self indulgent, but should care for the birds never forgetting the state of the species in the wild and the possible state of the individuals in care. Nor should it be forgotten that there are laws protecting wild birds, injured or otherwise (see chapter 7).
It should always be realised that surviving as a wild creature is very hard. Wild birds of prey live much shorter and more hazardous lives than those in captivity. The natural mortality rate for wild birds of prey can be as high as 50 per cent or higher. This means that 50 out of every 100 young born in some species may be dead before the end of their first year. This is perfectly normal; 50 per cent surviving each year is enough for the species to continue. It is most likely the birds in the 50 per cent that weren’t going to make it, are the ones that will be found and brought to Licensed Rehabilitation Keepers (LRKs), or the like, for care and treatment. The chances of many of those birds surviving after being treated and returned to the wild are very slim. Many of them have already proved their unfitness for survival by being found injured and brought in, in the first place. This is of course not always the case, but in a very high percentage it is so. Although many birds get hit by cars, very often these accidents occur after a spell of hard weather when the bird, not in top condition and becoming weaker through unsuccessful hunting, is not quick enough to get out of the way of a vehicle. Very often these birds would have died anyway had they not been hit.
What I am trying to say is that a certain amount of hardness of heart should be employed when dealing with injured wildlife. If birds of a common species are brought in with severe injuries, there is no good conservation reason for keeping them alive. For example, one-winged Kestrels can and do live a long time in captivity. They will also breed in captivity but, as discussed in chapter 5, there is little use for numerous young Kestrels, either in falconry or in the wild. For every more common permanently disabled bird kept, there is likely to be less space for an injured bird that could be cared for and be a valuable contribution to its species either by being returned to the wild or, if that is not possible, by being used for captive breeding.
There are no colony-living species of birds of prey native to Britain. All our wild birds live either in pairs or, in many of our species, as individuals spending a good part of their lives on their own. Keeping large numbers of one species of permanently disabled birds together in one pen indefinitely, to save space, rather than more naturally in pairs, is not particularly kind to the birds. No one can really quantify the stress this puts on them.
So, if you look after injured wild birds of prey already or are thinking of doing so, for the sake of the individual birds, the sake of others that may come in and the sake of the species, don’t hang on to one-legged, one-winged, blind or otherwise crippled birds just to gratify your own feelings. Care for everything as well as possible, but don’t be so soft hearted that you can’t humanely have put to sleep birds that should not survive and which, if they hadn’t been found, most definitely would not have survived.
Using just one species and a hypothetical calculation, a little sum will point out what sort of numbers may die quite naturally in the wild and what sort of numbers keepers might have to look after if every permanently disabled bird was kept. Imagine 100,000 Kestrels living in Great Britain, giving say 40,000 possible pairs. Say 25,000 of those possible pairs bred and reared to flying age 2.5 young per brood; there could be 62,500 young kestrels flying around in July. If 70 per cent were destined not to survive, the total number of young Kestrels that would die or get injured and then die, in one year would be 43,750. That doesn’t even count any of the adult birds.
If only 5 per cent of of that 70 per cent were found and brought in, there would be 2,187 Kestrels to care for, which is an awful lot of birds found and brought in. You can see why it is so important for only those birds which have a high chance of surviving to be released and why it is best not to keep all the rest in captivity as the numbers over just a few years would be simply horrific. If 50 per cent of those Kestrels could be released, the other 50 per cent kept alive and cared for by LRKs, each bird living 15 years and presuming that approximately the same number was kept each subsequent year, the number of disabled Kestrels being housed, fed and cared for by the end of those 15 years would be 16,402, and the money and time spent to look after them enormous.
Although those figures are only hypothetical, it is nevertheless easy to imagine the problem and also easy to see why rehabilitators should be hard to be kind and be selective about those permanently disabled birds destined to be kept for the rest of their natural lives.
DISPLAY OF INJURED WILD BIRDS
I am afraid that there are at the moment a few people taking injured wild birds of prey to country fairs and shows, and displaying them to the public to gain sympathy and funds. I believe this is morally very wrong. Injured wild birds, recovering, should be left quietly in pens prior to release. Permanently disabled birds (if they are going to be kept) should be allowed to live out their lives in peace, not dragged round the country in boxes and displayed for the public, even for the reason of fund raising. Any necessary fund raising can be very successful if done using photographs and explanations, not live injured wild birds.
In the last year I have seen a number of injured wild birds displayed in very poor conditions at various shows, being handled and stroked constantly by visiting children and adults, in even the hottest weather. We have about sixty-five species of birds here at the Centre, totalling about 220 birds and although some of them will tolerate being stroked, none of them, with the exception of an imprinted, tame Caracara, enjoy being touched. Constant stroking of birds is very bad for feather condition, as it removes all the natural oil which cannot be replaced fast enough.
Not only is all this exposure unpleasant for the individual birds, but it does the sport of falconry no good and puts LRKs into a bad light. Being an LRK myself I object to that, and am sure that most other reputable LRKs would feel the same. Discerning members of the public at these shows have come to me and been very upset by these sorts of displays, and the conditions in which the birds have been presented. I hope that the recent letter sent round by the DoE informing LRKs that the display of injured birds for financial gain is illegal, will stop this. Only those with the suitable charitable status or with zoo licences will be able to continue this behaviour, and I hope that they will have the decency not to do such a thing.
Requirements for Care
However, to get away from some of the more negative aspects of injured birds of prey, there is no doubt that some very valuable work has been, and is, being done with injured wild birds of prey. As Andrew Greenwood discussed in a paper in 1977, the role that could be played by bird hospitals in monitoring the diseases of wild species could be very important. We have learnt a great deal in techniques, particularly as regards coping with broken limbs which are far more plentiful in injured wild birds than in captive ones. Starvation and dehydration are things that are not normally dealt with in captive populations, but are probably the most common problem with wild birds. So much can be learnt which could then be applied to saving rare and endangered species.
There are seven major requirements for anyone wishing to look after injured wild birds of prey:
1 A good and patient vet
2 Recovery facilities
3 Land for pens
4 A good and varied supply of food
5 Time
6 Money
7 Release sites
A GOOD VET
Many injured birds will require veterinary treatment, particularly if they have broken limbs, even if they only need an X—ray to check for breaks. Although the College of Veterinary Surgeons has suggested to all vets that they treat injured wild birds free of charge, many of them don’t. To be fair to the vets, it is costly treating injured birds and many just can’t afford to give their services free. We are very lucky; one of our vets looks after all the injured birds brought to us free of charge. If he and his associates didn’t do this for us, we would not be able to afford the sort of treatment many of these birds require.
Firstly, find out if you have a local vet who is willing to treat injured wild birds of prey. Make sure that even if he or she is not experienced with these birds of prey, they have access to vets that are, and use that access. See if you are going to be charged for the treatment of injured wild birds. If so, it would be advisable to get a rough estimate of the charges for various forms of treatment—the cost of an X–ray, the cost of an operation to set a broken limb, the cost of drugs etc. All these will give you an idea of the sort of bill to expect for each bird. It may also be one of the deciding factors in which bird gets what treatment. Euthanasia is best performed by a vet as well.
RECOVERY FACILITIES
These are the next thing required for injured birds. Three different types of accommodation, and a storage room, are needed to do the job properly:
Small box-type quarters to confine birds for initial monitoring, recovering from operations and anaesthetics, or confinement for other reasons.
Larger, room-type accommodation, for birds that need a little more space but may also require heat, or are not ready to go into outside pens.
Large outside pens or flights where birds can fly about to aid recovery and muscle tone, or for housing growing young birds of prey which need to have space to learn to fly.
The small boxes should be in a building or room that is fairly light, but does not have too much direct sunlight. A couple of the boxes should be dark or dim, the rest should have single opening doors with vertical bars to let in light and air. The room should be heatable but should be well ventilated and not get over hot during summer. The boxes should be lined with some material which is easy to keep clean.
The boxes in our sick quarters are lined in white china tiles. These are very nice to wash as long as they are cleaned every day. The perches are removable and covered in carpet which can be replaced regularly. The bars on the doors are either bamboo or hollow aluminium tubing. The floor of each box is covered with clean newspaper each day; if a bird needs a softer surface, a towel is placed in the box. The room has a concrete floor which is easy to wash and the door has a panel which opens to give extra ventilation is hot weather. The windows open and the inside frames are covered with vertical bars.
It is a good idea to have a container for water in each box, one which will not tip over. Sick birds should always have the opportunity to drink and birds on antibiotics will often wish to drink, as some antibiotics can have a dehydrating effect.
The larger rooms are pretty basic, well lit and ventilated, quiet, draught proof, heatable and easily cleaned. We cover the floor in sand and put in branches as perches which are replaced each time the room is used. A double door system is vital.
The outside pens should be sheltered, and if not in total seclusion, part of each pen should be secluded, so the birds can get out of sight of humans. Wild Goshawks will have to go into total-seclusion pens. Plenty of light, plenty of shelter, lots of room and lots of peace and quiet are the most important needs. The RSPCA Wildlife Unit use a large swinging perch which Paul Llewellwyn at Swansea University researched and found very useful in helping birds recover balance and muscle after injury.
The pens should be kept clean and free of undergrowth, with plenty of perches for recovering birds to use. Again the double door system is essential (see chapter 4).
A room with deep freezes for storing food, a fridge, a cupboard with bandages and standby medicines, a treatment table, weighing machine, gloves, clean newspaper, spare pieces of carpet, clean perches, spare boxes for travelling birds, brooms, mops, disinfectant and the like, is essential.
LAND FOR PENS
Plenty of space, in a large garden or field that is secure, will be required, as the pens should be well away from noise, dogs, people etc. It is surprising how much space can be taken up by even a few pens. The area put aside for building pens should be dry and airy, not under trees where it will be dark and damp for much of the year.
Our new tile-lined sick quarters
GOOD, VARIED FOOD SUPPLY
At certain times of the year, particularly towards the end of the breeding season when larger numbers of young may be brought in, a good food supply is vital. Young birds of prey go through large quantities of food during the growing period. It is very important to feed them on more than one food type so as to avoid food imprints (the fixing of a bird onto one food type only). Some sort of food that looks similar to the food they will be catching on their return to the wild must be provided so that they know what to look for when hunting. The number of fluffy, yellow, day-old chicks wandering about in the wild is decidedly limited.
TIME
Time is probably the most unpredictable factor; there will be times when few or even no injured birds come in, and others when they arrive almost by the score. Once a place is known for taking injured birds, they will arrive at all hours of the day and night. We have phone calls about injured birds as late as midnight and this can get irritating after years of it happening. We very rarely go out and collect birds, we worked out recently that if we still did so now, we would have one member of staff on the road, full time, for nearly six months of the year. But we do accept birds at any time if they are delivered to us.
The amount of time the birds take will, of course, vary with the number of birds brought in and the degree of care each one needs. However, time will be needed, and quite considerable amounts of time, on occasion. If you are liable to be short of this, or want such luxuries as holidays, then coping with injured wild birds, other than just the very occasional one, is not for you.
MONEY
Housing, feeding, treating and caring for injured wild birds of prey is expensive. The recovery facilities are probably the single largest capital outlay, if they are done well.
Personally, I see no point in taking on such a responsibility if it is not done well. I also think it is much better if facilities are built attractively and to last. Why build a tatty eyesore; it does not endear bird keepers, falconers or LRKs to their neighbours, nor does it promote any feelings of professionalism in those people who bring in birds. A nice, tidy, smart, clean set of buildings will engender feelings of pride in the owner and feelings of relief in the people who find and deliver these birds. It will also make the care of these birds much easier. But good buildings are expensive to put up, so money must never be left out of the plans to care for injured birds.
Food, lighting, heating, possible vet bills and medicaments will all add to the bills. Don’t try valuing your time or you will get most depressed!
RELEASE SITES
The aspect often forgotten in the treatment and care of injured wild birds of prey is suitable release sites when the birds have recovered sufficiently. Please note that I say ‘suitable’. There is too much haphazard releasing of birds of prey. We do not release birds from here, at least none that need any form of hacking back (a slow release using pens and food or falconry methods). We do not consider that this is a suitable place from which to hack birds, so all our injured wild birds of prey go on to people who have good available release sites and can manage to release the birds successfully.
Also note the words ‘recovered sufficiently’. Once a wild bird comes in injured, it comes under certain laws preventing cruelty to animals. If a bird is released and it could be proved that it was not sufficiently recovered to survive, or had been released in an unsuitable area, the person releasing that bird can be taken to court under the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960. So be careful to make sure that birds are ready to go and are released in suitable areas.
Accepting and Treating
When we receive a phone call about a bird, we first of all see if it is in the hand or the bush, so to speak. If it is still loose in the wild (as many of them are) we tell people to try and catch up the bird and then phone us again after having done so. You have no idea how many supposed injured birds turn out to be extremely healthy, when people try to catch them. In the days when we did go out to collect them, it was fairly common to have a bird fly off either before we got there or just as we arrived. I once drove a round total of thirty miles to catch a ‘giant eagle with an injured leg’ only to find a perfectly fine heron, standing on one leg, which then stood happily on both its legs prior to flying off.
Normally an injured bird is relatively easy to catch, by cornering and dropping a lightweight coat or large towel over it. And people get very pleased with themselves if they have succeeded in catching one. If the bird is obviously a trained bird, we try to send out someone with a lure to pick it up.
We first ask if the bird is injured and we have various standard questions that we ask to try and find out what the bird is—size, eye colour, body colour etc. These are not foolproof by any means and we have had an interesting variety of very unusual ‘birds of prey’ brought in. One lady insisted we come out to catch a very weird-looking injured bird of prey which turned out to be a French Partridge. Several times we have had baby eagles brought in, usually in a huge cardboard box. On opening the box, you struggle to see anything in there, let alone an eyass eagle; then, hiding in a corner like a piece of dirt, you spot movement which turns out to be a young swallow or swift. They are usually mistaken because of their hooked talons which they use for clinging onto walls. I think our most exciting arrival came when someone phoned and said that they had found a baby Dodo. We thought our luck was in—the finding of an extinct bird in a country it didn’t even live in—our fortune was made. It turned out to be a baby Wood Pigeon, right family but wrong species. Taking in birds is always interesting if very hard work.
We suggest placing all injured birds in a strong, dark cardboard box with an old towel or piece of carpet in the bottom. Under no circumstances use those wire cat boxes that are often used by the RSPCA. They are the last thing to use for birds in general with the possible exception of a cage made out of chicken wire, which is even worse. Old budgie cages should not be used either. A dark box will stop a bird from crashing around, damaging feathers and perhaps injuring itself further. I am glad to say that I think the RSPCA are going to stop using these boxes for birds.
Unless the bird is very weak, we suggest it is best not to feed it, particularly if it is being brought in immediately. If the finders are unable to bring round an injured bird until the following day, we suggest feeding with raw beef or chicken but not anything else. We always try to remember to tell people not to give any bird found, bacon or salted meat of any description. We have had several birds arrive that would probably have survived had they not been given a good feed of bacon before coming to us. We also point out that giving owls cotton wool as casting material is not only a complete waste of time but can often kill the birds. Casting can be traumatic and is not necessary for injured birds or young ones until they are recovered or nearly grown, whichever the case may be, as long as the food supplied is good quality.
During the spring and early summer many young birds of prey, particularly owls, are found by the walking public. If these young have only just been found and are not tiny babies, but half grown—the normal size they are when they start to get adventurous—and are obviously not injured in some way, try to persuade the people who have found the bird to return it immediately to the place where it was found. The parent birds will most likely return and care for the baby, and its chances of long-term survival are as great if not greater than they would be if the bird is brought in, reared and then hacked back. What is often forgotten is that young owls cannot learn to fly in their nest in a hole, they leave the nest before they can fly and practise wing flapping and pouncing and the like. If left alone they will very often climb trees long before they can fly and the parents are perfectly used to finding their young offspring in various different places.
A young Snowy Owl. It is very unlikely that one of these will be found in the wild in Britain
Always thank people for bringing birds and for phoning, even if the bird is not a bird of prey. Remember, one day it could be a falconry bird that you or someone else has lost. If people recover birds that we have lost, or help us to find them, we always give a reward. This encourages help in the future.
Each bird that arrives in should have its own card with details of species, sex, age (this often has to be guessed), name and address of finder, and details of where the bird was found and under what circumstances. If the bird has obviously been shot the DoE must be informed immediately. As the bird is treated, details of the treatment and the results should be kept. This is valuable information that could be very useful at a later date.
On arrival, birds should be examined for injury, and problems noted. Shock is one of the biggest killers of wild birds, particularly haggard birds (adults). So unless treatment is needed immediately we recommend placing birds in a small, comfortable warm (but not too warm) dark box for about twelve hours before excessive handling or operating on.
Many birds, particularly those brought in during the autumn may well be on the point of starvation. This is quite common, and these birds usually come from the vast number of unsuccessful young that are failing to hunt for themselves and are doomed not to make it.
If the bird is unable even to stand, the chances of its survival are very slim. However, a multi-vitamin injection with some B vitamins, and some IonAid given orally may help the bird. It is almost impossible to give too much liquid, so with very weak birds we may give fluids such as IonAid very regularly; 4 per cent of the bird’s body-weight every 4 to 6 hours will do. Food should not be given to very thin birds until the fluids have given them a little strength. They will not be able to digest solid food immediately and it will only go off in the crop, causing more problems. With these birds, Brand’s Essence (beef or chicken), Ovigest or Complan can be be used in small and frequent feeds, until the bird is stronger. Once the bird is strong enough to eat, or be force fed, feed only small amounts. Little and often is the best way. Check that small crops have been put over before giving more food. With owls, who have no crops, the stomach can be gently pressed to see if quantities of food remain. If the bird regains enough strength to start feeding on its own, the battle is almost won, but again do not overfeed and don’t give any casting materials until the bird is strong again; it just wastes valuable space and energy. (Casting material is fur or feathers which are eaten by the bird and subsequently regurgitated after the bird has digested its meal.)
Probably the most difficult birds to get to feed on their own are the haggard birds and particularly musket Sparrowhawks. We find that either a fresh starling or perhaps a quail which looks close to their natural food, will start them off. The less natural looking foodstuffs such as day-old chicks and white mice can be introduced if need be.
Birds with broken limbs or suspected breaks should be X-rayed by a vet and then the limbs set if need be. If the bone is holding in place (natural splinting), which may happen if only one bone in a wing is fractured, operating need not be done, just immobilise the wing. If not, pinning is probably the most successful way for birds, the bones held in place while healing proceeds.
Birds that are just ill, rather than injured can be a great problem. They should really be isolated in case they are carrying any contagious disease. Mute samples should be taken as soon as possible, taken to the Poultry Laboratories or your vet, and should the results prove the bird has a contagious disease, for the sake of other birds it is probably wiser to put the bird down, unless it is a particularly rare bird. For those people with their own breeding or falconry birds as well as injured birds, it is sheer madness to risk an infected bird close to healthy stock. If the infection is curable and not contagious, use the drug suggested on the mute sample report, after checking with your vet. Be careful not to go ahead without his say so; some poultry labs may unknowingly suggest the use of drugs which are actually poisonous to raptors.
There will be times when birds come in that have either been illegally taken as very young birds and then lost or released, or found as a very young bird by people who insist on rearing it themselves, only bringing the bird to an LRK after it has become full grown. In both cases the bird is most likely to be an imprint of some sort. Sexually imprinted birds cannot and must not be released to the wild. They will not breed, they may well attack humans if they get hungry or later on when they come into breeding condition. They will not pair up naturally, but may take over a territory and keep off a wild breeding pair that should be there. The sexually imprinted bird will either have to be kept for its natural life in a pen on its own as it will attack other birds; found a home for, making sure that the person having the bird knows what he or she is getting and knows how to cope with it; or it will have to be put down humanely.
Some birds may have been fed on only one food type and have got wedded to it, refusing to eat other foods, almost to the point of starvation. These must be slowly weaned off and encouraged to eat a variety of alternative food types.
Many injured and sick birds that come in have The NBoP Centre’s favourite parasite—hippoboscids, or flat fly which looks like a flat, grey house-fly, and lives in among the feathers on birds and is a blood sucker. Sometimes young birds will have an excessive number of these little delights and they will actually kill the host bird. If you see them, the bird will have to be sprayed. In fact it is a good idea to spray all birds once they are over the shock period. Never spray indoors. Use Alugan spray or Johnson’s Antimite and, holding the bird in the fresh air well away from you, spray well. Don’t hold the spray so close that the bird gets wet; don’t forget to spray under the wings and tail but be careful of the eyes. Try to get to the back of the neck where feather mites love to live. The hippoboscids then have a great habit of flying off the sprayed bird onto the nearest possible living thing—you. They are very difficult to kill, resisting normal fly swatting like a relation of the Incredible Hulk. You have to roll them between finger and thumb like a flea. I have known members of staff here, strip off in front of the visitors if they spot a flat fly landing on them!
Swallows, swifts and house martins have them in quantities and they will often fly onto our demonstration falcons in high summer when the house martins fly along with the falcons. Injured Merlins and Hobbys are often crawling with the damn things. Birds carrying large numbers of external parasites will often be weakened and can die. Various mites and ticks can be carried and all should be watched for.
One of the commonest injuries we seem to have with Little Owls is loss of use of their legs. Get any of these birds X-rayed first, X-raying the pelvis as well as the legs. We have found that very often the pelvis is broken, thus causing the paralysis. If the bones are uninjured let the bird recover from the shock, let any excessive bruising—which will show as green or blue skin—subside and then give the bird regular physiotherapy, bicycling the legs gently at least twice a day for ten minutes. This can and does bring back the use of the legs. If the pelvis is fractured it may eventually recover on its own but if it is badly broken, the bird’s chances are slim and it is probably kinder to relieve it of its pain and have it put down.
Releasing or Hacking Back
Sometimes birds are brought in that have only had a minor knock, and by the time they arrive, are fully recovered and can be released immediately. If possible always release the bird back where it was found, or as close to that area as you can. If it has been brought a long distance and cannot be returned to the area of finding, release the bird in the nearest available suitable area. If releasing a diurnal bird of prey, an early morning release is best. If releasing a nocturnal bird, release at twilight, just before full dark; in this way it will not get mobbed badly by crows and the like.
Full-grown birds that have only had short-term treatment—up to ten days in captivity—should be able to be released without any recourse to hacking techniques, unless it is very obvious that the bird is only just full grown and has not yet caught anything. Again it is best to release as near as possible to the finding site and again, choose good weather. Don’t let birds go during heavy rains or a sudden freeze.
Late summer is the very best time for releases, although autumn and early winter, depending on the weather can also be reasonable. At these times birds can be released in areas occupied by others of the same species, as this is the time of year when young are moving around, and the established pairs will not be defending their territories. During the spring and early summer, release sites must be found away from close resident pairs, or these will drive away released birds. They may even be driven away themselves, possibly resulting in the death of wild young birds that they may have been rearing. Mid-winter is a bad time to release birds, as their chances of survival in poor or freezing weather conditions are lowered. The weather forecast should be obtained from the local Meteorological Office for the following week and if strong winds or heavy rain are imminent birds should not be released at hack sites.
Suitable release sites are absolutely vital. Birds must be released in sites where they have a high chance of survival. There is no point in releasing birds such as Common Buzzards from a back garden. I really think that urban sites cut down birds’ chances as there are so many possible hazards about such as traffic, cats, dogs, children, glass windows and many other problems. The birds stay here until they can be removed safely and then go to West Hotel. This takes some of the work off us and means we can still accept injured birds. We send all our injured birds down to the RSPCA Wildlife Unit, West Hatch, Taunton, Somerset. They have just built new facilities and have about 20 acres (8ha) of ground, giving plenty of space for recovery pens. They also have a number of release sites spread around and about six counties, thus giving the birds the highest chance possible. Hack sites should be chosen for:
• Good habitat.
• Good food base.
• As little disturbance as possible.
• Someone available to monitor the birds’ progress.
• Freedom from natural hazards such as motorways.
If there is no good wild food supply, you might just as well hit the birds on the head to avoid them starving to death slowly. A survey of the prey base should be taken before choosing a site. There should be no resident conspecific species. If you wish to release Kestrels, don’t release them close to wild Kestrel territory; release something else in that area and similarly for other species.
According to the research done by P.J. Llewellwyn and P.F. Brain, mobbing by other birds can place great stress on new releases. The worst offenders are the corvids. So don’t choose a release site in close proximity to a rookery or the local crows’ nests, as these birds will keep newly released birds constantly on the move, taking them away from the release sites. Collapsible cages which can easily be moved to new release sites and erected are very useful, as release sites must not be over used, with over-high numbers released.
For release of young birds back to the wild it seems that group releases of four or five birds together are more successful. Once they have settled in the release pen (not to be confused with a pheasant release pen) and can be let out, small groups together will tend to keep one another close to the food supplied by the attendant until they get more adventurous. Sometimes released birds may decide to take up residence in the hack area and start to breed, in which case no more of that species can be released there and a new area will have to be found. Take heart though, that is a sign of success.
• No bird that is not physically and structurally perfect should be released.
• No bird that has damaged feathers should be released. Unless that damage is very minor.
• No bird imprinted on humans should be released.
• No bird that is not fit should be released.
In cases where birds have been under treatment for extended periods, often the only way to assess fitness is to use falconry methods and train and fly the birds prior to release.
All birds should be ringed by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) before release. Ring returns will show the success of many releases and are a valuable contribution to conservation work. I spoke to Colin Seddon, who runs the Wildlife Unit near Taunton, and he said that he has found feeding live food to birds was not necessary prior to release. He has ring returns from Tawny Owls that have been out for three years successfully and they were brought to the unit as 7-day-old babies. None of his release birds are given live food.
Talking about baby Tawnies, you may well get people who have found them and phone for advice, but refuse to bring the bird in to a rehabilitation centre because they want to rear it themselves. This is understandable but you must point out politely and firmly, without being unpleasant, that the bird will not be a normal, happy, well adjusted bird if reared on its own. To keep a young bird isolated and not let it join others is self indulgent and does not have the bird’s best interests at heart. If someone has been warned that to hang onto a bird unnecessarily will render it non-releasable by imprinting it, they could be deemed to be breaking the law if they persist.
There are hundreds of very dedicated people who take in and look after wildlife all over the world. They do a vital and worthwhile job. All I would ask of some of them, and anyone considering starting a bird hospital, is think about what they are doing, and why they are doing it.
