24 June 2009
WHAT another very busy week. We have been inundated with calls to gull chicks falling off rooftops around East Sussex but I have to say it is nice to see so many of them going back onto the roof tops across Sussex. Tony Neads and I have been very busy this week putting them back up.
This is real conservation in action protecting the Herring Gull which is now on the Red Data List as a protected species but also helping the community at the same time.
WE had a baby badger at the weekend which was found in a field near Framfield. The call came in from the Mid Sussex Badger Trust. Kathy and I were on site very quickly and were able to catch the badger and check her over. She was certainly a wriggler but very thin. The badger group were asked to do a more thorough check of the area to see if any others could be found in case mum had been killed on a road somewhere. She was taken up to Folly Wildlife Rescue who help collect many of the baby badgers across the area from all different groups and help pair them up into small groups for eventual release back into the wild. A young kestrel was found at the foot of cliffs at Birling Gap too at the weekend. The bird was still very fluffy but very thin. The bird was not quite a fledgling and as a result has had to come into care.
WE had a Herring gull trapped in a basement in Susans Road Eastbourne on Friday. It was rather an odd call-out and we had to put our ladders down into the basement to get to the gull. On examination we could not find anything wrong apart from a little graze to the feet and a nail missing. These were treated on site before the gull was taken just along the road to the beach and release where it had plenty of space to recover and within minutes the gull was up and flying around.
WE have had a number of calls about the Westham and Langney swans over the past few weeks. The female swan at Langney is a new female and she has nested at a vulnerable location. Earlier this year as she started to nest yobs were seen attacking the swans and as a result several of the eggs were destroyed and some rolled into the water. She is currently sitting on one egg. People have been concerned that the eggs is changing colour and asking whether it is still viable or likely to hatch. This is difficult to say but the colouration is just actually just dirt. When a swans nest is disturbed it is possible for the female to lay more eggs a couple of weeks later. So it is difficult to know when this one egg was laid and if it is still one of the original eggs or not. After seeking advice from the Swan Sanctuary we are going to continue monitoring her health. Ninety-five per cent of all swans eggs hatch before July 1 so there is still time for the egg to catch. On Thursday when we visited her she was showing signs of dehydration so we left a bowl of pond water and some corn flakes as well as watercress and lettuce for her to feed on. We revisited on Friday and she seemed much better as a result.
THE Westham swans oddly enough have a very similar situation. There is a new female there too and she has hatched one cygnet but is still sitting on three eggs. Again it is difficult to know if they were all laid at the same time or whether there was a deal in the egg laying process. Some people have said both her and the Langney swans have been sitting for too long. You need to take into consideration that when a swans starts sitting on a nest does not mean that eggs have been laid. It can take up to two weeks for the eggs to actually be laid and for the incubation period to start. So it is still possible that these eggs may hatch. We are not legally allowed to interfere at all with this process unless the female is injured or sick in any way. At the moment we are trying to help both females stay healthy and will continue to monitor the situation. We obviously can not be there all the time and do appreciate the help and support of the local residents in monitoring them.
OUR new newsletter is now available if you would like be added to a our mailing list you can write to us at our address above or you can receive a colour copy by e-mail if you send me your e-mail address. I can be contacted on trevor@wildlifeambulance.org.
PLEASE don't forget our Deer Cull petition which is on-line at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/StoptheDeerCull/ calling on Gordon Brown to look at humane ways of dealing with the increase in deer collision and damage to farmers crops. A deer cull is only a short term, expensive and inefficient option, where as the long term answers of electronic warning signs and sensors, wider grass verges and under passes and fencing are a more cost effective long term answer.
WRAS will be at the Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare on the Broyle at Ringmer on June 28 as well as at Hellingly Primary School's summer fair on July 4 between 12.30pm and 3.30pm. Over the weekend of July 11-12 we will be at the 999 Display on Eastbourne seafront too. We have some new items for sale including photos, place mats, key rings, T-shirts and more. So please come along and say hello.
East Sussex WRAS is a voluntary organisation which relies on donations. We do not receive funding from government nor the RSPCA. Anyone wishing to make a donation should contact The Treasurer at PO Box 2148, Seaford, East Sussex, BN25 9DE. www.wildlifeambulance.org 24-hour rescue line: 07815 078 234
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Weather for Eastbourne
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
