TREVOR WEEKS: Stig the blooded pigeon is making a great recovery

WRAS’s educational trailer, veterinary ambulance and gazebo will be present where you can pick up information and buy various wildlife related gifts to help support our vital work.

Kathy and I hope to be there all weekend, so if you are free please pay us a visit.

Stig the blooded pigeon, who was left for dead in a bin in Eastbourne, is making a remarkable recovery.

Most of the swelling has gone down now but it looks like he has lost vision in one eye.

We are still having a few issue with him feeding himself but he is now stable enough to perch.

I looks like he will not be suitable for release but we already have a space waiting for him at a suitable pigeon loft where he can be semi tame and looked after.

Its been a week of badger casualties.

We had a call to a little badger found curled up under some brambles in a small depression in woods near East Hoathly.

I was already at our Casualty Centre so was able to rush up and meet the dog walker on site who showed me straight to the badger.

He was quickly secured and transported back to the centre.

On assessment the badger was found to be rather underweight and has an infected puncture wound on his face, so he has very kindly been taken on by Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue and has gone with one of their youngsters as they need to be reared as a social group.

We have also been called out to rescue a young badger which had fallen 20-30ft down an embankment onto a patio in Hastings.

As part of McAfee’s Global Community Day Dave Gill and Kimberley Winfield attended the rescue with me as they were spending the day helping us out.

The badger was caught using a dog grasper, in a narrow gap between the embankment wall and the side of the house.

Once in a secure cage the young badger was checked over for injuries but found to be fit and well.

We then took the badger upstairs in the house and out a higher doorway onto the embankment above.

After climbing through bushes to get to a suitable release point the young badger was released to run off back to its sett which was close by.

Five days later Chris and I had to attend again after two badgers cubs fell down onto the patio again.

We checked them over and they were luckily health and released again.

Above the garden is a steep slope with several badger paths crossing.

You can see a video of the badger rescues on our You Tube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/eastsussexwras.

On Tuesday Chris and I also rushed into Lismore Road Eastbourne in the town centre after a fox cub was discovered trapped in a basement area at the front of a house.

The cub was just at that age where they are starting to explore and get themselves into trouble, just like the badger cubs.

Chris jumped down into the basement area and caught the fox cub.

It was taken back to WRAS for the rest of the day but returned in the early hours of the morning when the roads were quiet and released again.

Thank you to Councillor Dr Graham Mayhew, who has been the Mayor of Lewes over the past year, and for raising over £2,300 for WRAS.

We were presented with a cheque at a reception at Lewes Town Hall last week, in between trying to deal with rescues. But this has been brilliant support and help in keeping our service on the road and helping people who find wildlife casualties in Lewes.

Rescuer Chris and I were called out to mum and ducklings in a swimming pool at Hackhurst Lane Lower Dicker.

Rather than go in and capture the ducklings and risk mum flying off and abandoning them, we opted to help them find their own way out by creating a ramp for them to use.

A piece of hardboard was used to form a curved ramp over the edge of the swimming pool and into the water with bricks holding the ramp in place.

I then slowly encouraged mum to walk round the pool towards the ramp which the ducklings quickly walked up and out back to their mum.

The board was left in place in case they returned.