This spring has seen more pheasants being admitted than ever before – mainly road casualties. Pheasants do not make very good patients unfortunately but we have managed to save a few of them and get them back into the wild. Tim and all our volunteers have done a marvellous job in helping to care, feed and medicate the many casualties which we have dealt with recently.

We have had our first few fox cubs in this week. The first was in a house in Seaford which Tony and I attended. The cub was found not far from its den and was luckily returned to his siblings. Another cub was found in a garden in Uckfield but the cub had a very nervous twitch so, after advice from the Fox Project, it was decided best to keep the fox in and monitor its condition. A vixen was found at Willingdon Close this week. Rescuers were on site quickly and the vixen was admitted to our veterinary unit and found to be heavily lactating, meaning there were probably cubs around. Rescuers spent the rest of day and some time in the evening walking round the area looking for cubs but unfortunately none were found or reported. If anyone in the Upper Kings Drive or Wish Hill area of Willingdon sees any cubs please contact WRAS for advice. Please remember that if you see cubs around it does not mean that they have been abandoned.

I was called to Winchelsea to deal with a swan with an injured leg. Using a drysuit and swan hook the swan was caught and travelled to our casualty care unit at Horsebridge and given pain relief before transported up to the Swan Sanctuary at Shepperton for long term treatment. Unfortunately the swan had an old break to the leg and joint and the bone had become infected. It is unlikely that the swan will be releasable and will be found a home on the sanctuary with the other swans.

We have had several birds stuck down chimneys this week. One was in a chimney behind a gas fire. As we are not allowed to touch gas fires the gas company was called and they disconnected the fire free of charge. The bird was not at the bottom of the chimney so the fireplace was left clear and an hour later the bird came down completely and the lady was able to release the bird straight out of her window. Luckily this bird was still able to fly. Some birds we get called to are so covered in soot that they are weak and unable to fly. The most popular birds found in chimneys are jackdaws and starlings. We also occasionally get young gull chicks too. I had to laugh when I attended a call in Newhaven several years ago, when we were told a duckling had fallen down a chimney. How a duck was supposed to nest on a chimney I have no idea – it turned out to be a small gull chick.

I would like to say thank you to Eastbourne Borough Council and the Marchig Trust for donating £1,000 each towards our work. Deirdre Hallett, one of our supporters, is in the process of organising a charity dog show for Sunday July 27 at The Dicker Village Hall, Coldharbour Road, Upper Dicker, Hailsham. We would like to thank Tatty Matts, Nodding Cobbler, Seaford Fencing, Lifestyle and Langney Domestics for all having donated money towards this show. Further details of the show will be announced soon.

WRAS's spring raffle tickets are now available. First prize is £100 along with other donated prizes.
If you would like to help sell any tickets then please send a stamped addressed envelope to our treasurer Peter Mortimer, Ash Cottage, 73 Friday Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 8AY. Our latest newsletter is also in the process of being posted out to our supporters. If you would like to receive this on a regular basis contact our treasurer on this address too. You can also download a copy of the newsletter from our website www.wildlifeambulance.org and click on the 'latest news' section.