Our first deer call of the year was on January 2 at Halland. It was about 4am and the deer had probably had a near miss and panicked and run between a house and fence. The further down the path the deer went, the more narrow the gap became and the force at which the deer tried to charge through the gap caused its antlers to become stuck between the wall of the house and wooden fence. I was amazed when I arrived and in the dark I worked with the owner of the house to remove the fence panel and set the deer free.

We also had a poisoned magpie from Hampden Park, probably rat poison. If a bird can pick it up then I hope no-one's domestic pets can get hold of it.
We had another call about a deer over at Cowfold with a leg injury. This was in West Sussex so it was passed over to West Sussex Wildlife Protection to deal with. We have had pigeons on the beach near West Pier, Brighton; De La Warr Road, Bexhill and Woburn Place, Brighton.

Our first fox of the year was at Cataloop Road in Bexhill. This fox was eventually found to be poisoned, probably by slug pellets. Although Tim tried his hardest the fox passed away the following day. Another fox was reported injured at Carlisle Road, Eastbourne.
Tony and I rushed to High and Over just outside Seaford on the Alfriston road after a fox was hit. The lady who hit the fox was very responsible and stayed on siteuntil we arrived but the fox managed to pick himself up and get through the fence and limp off before we got there. A search of the area showed the fox had clearly managed to cover some distance before we arrived and therefore could not have been too badly injured. Two other foxes have also been dealt with at Bexhill with limps and mange.

We have had a number of call outs to gulls too – one at Hove, Telscombe Cliffs and one at the junction of the Drive and the Avenvue at Hailsham. We received a call about the Hailsham one from a lady who bravely went out and stopped the traffic and moved the gull out of the road and saved its life. Before Val attended, the bird had picked itself up, dusted itself down and flew off. If this lady had not moved the gull it would probably have been hit by a car and killed – so well done.

We also had a report of a seal in the River Ouse near Lewes. I attended with marine mammal medic Kevin Harlow from British Divers Marine Life Rescue. We found the seal and observed for a while. It is a young adult but fit and healthy. The seal is going to be monitored to ensure it is ok.

We also had our first cat attack of the year from Polegate. Like most cat-attacked birds this robin died the following day from shock or septicemia.

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 WRAS's treasurer Peter Mortimer at Ash Cottage, 73 Friday Street, Eastbourne, BN23 8AY. www.wildlifeambulance.org 24-hour rescue line: 07815 078 234.