Born to be Wild in Bude - News

RNLI Bird Rescue Widemouth Bay

By On September 15, 2011 In Rescues, RNLI Lifeguards, Wildlife With No Comments Permanent Link to RNLI Bird Rescue Widemouth BayPermalink

RNLI lifeguards on Widemouth beach in Bude helped rescue 12 exhausted sea birds on Wednesday afternoon (7 September). The Manx Shearwater birds were migrating to Argentina where they spend the winter when they were blown back to shore by strong wind and rain.

More than 400 of the birds were blown into Newgale in Pembrokeshire, Wales on the same day. The birds which live in the cliff face, do not usually take off from the land, instead they fall off the cliffs and fly away, so once they were blown off course they were stranded.

On Widemouth, Senior RNLI lifeguard Ian Burgess and colleague Richie Heard picked up two birds from the water which were getting battered by the relentless surf, while other exhausted and water logged birds were lying on the beach.

Ian, Richie and other RNLI lifeguards, Tom Comber and Eddie Kennard put the exhausted birds in boxes next to heaters in the lifeguard unit before calling Sue Gear, a local lady from Morwenstow who singlehandedly runs Born to be Wild. A charity which takes in injured wildlife, gives them food and water, medication and rehabilitation until they are ready to be released back into the wild.

Sue, who works in a local vetinary practice arrived at the beach expecting to pick up just three birds, instead she ended up taking home 12 from Widemouth and over the next few days another three from other local beaches.

Sue says;

‘The RNLI lifeguards did a great job to help all the birds and give them the best possible chance of survival. I will now take them to the West Hatch wild life centre in Somerset where they will join the other birds which were rescued in Wales. West Hatch has the expertise and experience in dealing with large numbers of seabirds and they will help the birds back to full strength so they can be released back into the wild.

I had to make a trip to Morrison’s to collect some local Sprats and the house smells pretty fishy so I will be glad to move them on.’

Phil Hill, RNLI lifeguard Divisional Manager says;

‘The lifeguards made good use of a quiet day on Widemouth to help the birds. Working and  a lot of the time, living close to or on the beach, the RNLI lifeguards are passionate about their local environment and the wildlife that inhabits it, so they were determined to help the birds. We have our fingers crossed they will make a full recovery.’

 

Barn Owls

By On November 13, 2009 In Barn Owls With No Comments Permanent Link to Barn OwlsPermalink

They are one of our favorite owls and usually seen at dusk or after dark. They are often seen as a large white bird when caught in car headlights flying across roads. It’s not until they are perched that you can see the wonderful golden upper body, speckled with silvery grey flecks and the gorgeous heart shaped face.

Barn owls do not hoot like tawny owls but hiss and screech which can be quite scary if you are unaware of where it is coming from. Late winter early spring is the beginning of the breeding season. Pairs will spend a lot of time together with the male doing most of the hunting, feeding up his mate to get her into tip-top condition to have his young. In spring, after successful mating, the female will lay five to six eggs at two to three day intervals. This means the young can be over two weeks apart in development meaning the younger chicks will struggle to survive. Normally the female will do all the incubation which can last up to thirty two days. She will stay with them until they are about three weeks old, at which stage they can be getting quite playful with each other. Both parents will now be able to feed them and the female will also have the opportunity to feed herself as she will be quite thin by this stage.

By ten weeks old the barn owl chicks are fully grown and will turn into prolific hunters, flying low over farmland and roadside verges looking for their next meal.

merlin

An adult barn owl will eat two to three rats, mice or other small mammals each night. They need to eat the complete animal including bone, fur and even feathers which will later be regurgitated as a pellet.

If you are plagued with rodents it might be an idea to encourage a pair by putting up a nest box. This is the most natural way to control rodents, instead of using cruel traps or poisons which could be harmful to other animals and even pets. A family of barn owls could easily eat three hundred rats per month which equates to over three thousand a year!

The photos are of Merlin a Barn Owl that was hit by a car. One shows him with his wing in a splint and the other was the day I released him. He was found near Rocky Valley and was bought our to vet by a member of the public and his wing was put in a splint after an x-ray showed it was fractured. He spent many weeks with me recovering and was eventually released near where he was found.

This was a very emotional experience as I had grown extremely fond of him, but seeing him fly off down the valley made it all worth while. Giving him a second chance is what it’s all about.

Winter Wildlife

By On November 13, 2009 In Wildlife, Winter With No Comments Permanent Link to Winter WildlifePermalink

Even though Christmas is just around the corner don’t forget to spare a thought for our wildlife, in fact Christmas could be the ideal time to help. You know what it’s like when someone asks you ‘what would you like for Christmas?’ and you reply ‘oh, I don’t know’ because you feel embarrassed and don’t like asking for anything, or maybe you don’t need anything. Well, this year why not say, ‘how about something for the garden wildlife!’ How about a bird table or nesting box; a bat box or hedgehog house; or even a bumblebee box?

You could ask for a bird feeder or bird seed and nuts or even a supply of fat balls to keep the birds fed all winter. You could ask for a pair of binoculars to watch them. You don’t have to be a professional twitcher to enjoy your own garden visitors, I use mine out of my kitchen window most of the time. So please keep feeding the birds this winter as they need a break, summer was very cruel to them and with all the rain thousands of babies got wet and died. Let’s hope 2008 will be kinder to all our wildlife.

hedgehog

Please still keep a look out for small hedgehogs they may not be able to survive hibernation. If you are not sure give me a call. I already have 7 juveniles to over-winter; they will be kept until spring and then released. If you would like to help you can always donate a tin of cat or dog food; they can be dropped of at Locke and Preston Vets on the Strand, Bude.

Like any wildlife enthusiast, I love finding wildlife in my garden and still get a thrill finding large warty toads or slippery slow worms when gardening and you don’t have to spend lots of money making homes for all these creatures. Some habitats are quiet easy to make. An old whole paving slab could provide a hibernation site for amphibians. Scoop out some earth under the centre of the slab and make a tunnel to the outside of it so the slab ends up hiding a cave with a secret entrance.

Old rabbit hutches can also be turned into a hedgehog house. Thoroughly clean out and disinfect the hutch and make sure it is totally dry before putting anything in it Some clean dry straw can be added, not too much as you want the hedgehog to do the work and make their home the way they want it. Most hutches have a bed area and small run. The door to the run could be removed, leaving the other door as that will create a nice cosy bedroom. Then hide the hutch in a sheltered spot in your garden facing away of the preverbal winds. Then it’s simply a case of sitting back and waiting for a prickly friend to take up residence.

How about making a New Years Resolution: to make your garden more wildlife friendly:

  • Put up a bird or bat box
  • Get a bird table or bird bath
  • Build a woodpile or compost heap
  • Make a wildlife pond
  • Plant fruiting shrubs that provide food
  • Plant trees or wild flowers
  • Whatever you decide to do enjoy your garden and help our wildlife.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO YOU AND ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Summertime Wildlife

By On November 2, 2009 In Summertime With No Comments Permanent Link to Summertime WildlifePermalink

Rabbits are among our most familiar and endearing mammals, active in broad daylight and often present in large numbers. They were bought to Britain about 900 years ago by the Normans, being introduced for their fur and meat. They were kept in special enclosures called ‘warrens’ from which, inevitably some escaped and began living wild. Rabbits begin mating as early as January and continue throughout the summer, the early babies themselves able to breed in the same year. The escaped rabbits bred profusely and they were regarded as pests. Many were trapped or shot but still the numbers increased.
You may have had the pleasure of seeing wild rabbits playing in a field, or unlucky enough to see very sickly one with swollen eyes, almost blind, running around aimlessly.

THRUSH1

This is because of the disgusting Myxoma virus that was deliberately introduced to Britain in 1953. It is now known as myxomatosis. It wiped out 99% of the rabbit population and unfortunately it is still around today. I have seen many this year that have had to be humanely destroyed.  Once infected the animal’s eyes become swollen and inflamed.  Within four days the animal will be blind, becoming disoriented and unable to feed properly. It will almost certainly die by the 10th day. This does not only affect wild rabbits; if you have pet rabbits they can be infected, as the disease is spread by fleas. If you have wild rabbits near your garden you can protect your pet rabbits by having them vaccinated against the virus, just ask your vet. It is just a shame we can’t protect the wild ones as well.

Baby Birds

You may have seen many gardens birds with beaks full of insects or worms just like this Blackbird. He and his partner have a nest in the hedge in our garden. They are feeding non stop during the day and are just amazing to watch; they must be exhausted by the end of the day. I have also seen some interest in our new blue tit box: we will just have to wait and see if it is used this summer.

Talking of baby birds, if you do come across babies on your lawn, please do not touch them unless they are in immediate danger (from say a cat) Trying to hand rear young fledglings is extremely difficult and often unsuccessful. If you can make the area safe for them they will have a much better chance of surviving as the parents will still feed them for many days. The babies will leave the nest before they are ready to fly and still rely on parents to feed them. You may have seen young sparrows all fluffed up still wanting mum to feed them even when they are capable of feeding themselves.

My husband Barry and I went to help three green finches that had fallen from their nest onto the concrete edge of an empty swimming pool. On further inspection the owner spotted another in the swimming pool; luckily in the shallow end, the deep end had about five inches of water from the heavy rain we have just had. More than enough to drown a little bird. After a short search we found the nest, but on trying to put the babies back found they just fluttered out again. The whole garden is a wildlife haven but they had to find the only dangerous bit.  The tree only just overhung the wall that separated lots of shrubs and a perfect wildlife habitat from the concrete swimming pool, so we just popped them over the wall to safety. We and the owner were so pleased to see the parents watching our every move and I am sure they will carry on feeding them. If we are lucky we should also start seeing young hedgehogs out and about now. Remember: no bread and milk, but cat and dog food. Please make sure there is fresh water for all our garden wildlife.

Have a happy summer.