TREVOR WEEKS: Swan crashes into power lines, and we release a fox

At the moment the majority of calls we are receiving are about road casualties. Kathy and I rushed out to a tawny owl hit on the road not far from Piltdown Pond near Uckfield.
The injured swan off Golden Jubilee Way SUS-180702-144547001The injured swan off Golden Jubilee Way SUS-180702-144547001
The injured swan off Golden Jubilee Way SUS-180702-144547001

The caller was unable to wait with the owl but give good directions and landmarks making it easy us rescuers to find the bird.

Good directions and landmarks if you can’t wait can make a big difference and speed up the rescue.

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The owl doesn’t appear to have any fractures and is rather stunned and concussed so emergency medication was given and then delivered to our casualty centre.

A lovely tawny owl came in after being found on Ersham Road Hailsham, rescuers Brian and Jen attended and delivered him to our casualty centre.

He is a bit underweight but no obvious injuries other than initial concussion.

Our vets were happy with his condition the following day but due to his weight he is being kept in for a while before release.

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Rescuers Karen and Chris attended a fox that was sadly hit by a car on the A27 near Falmer at the weekend. Sadly it had died on arrival.

Rescuers rushed to a badger at Horney Common near Maresfield unable to move and just lifting its head.

The finders placed a towel over the badger to help keep him warm.

Rescuers arrived on site within 20 minutes and managed to secure the badger carefully despite it protesting.

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The badger was very frightened and aggressive out of fear, vulnerability and discomfort. I was rather concerned so spoke to one of our WRAS vets, who authorised emergency medication out on site.

We then drove the badger back to WRAS’s casualty centre at Whitesmith where it was checked over better.

The lack of response in the rear legs was worrying, so our vet authorized x-rays of the lower spine but these didn’t reveal anything.

In order to get x-rays of the upper spine the badger needed to be sedated, so vet Mike attended and under sedation and further x-rays were taken.

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Eventually damage to the spine was discovered right up near the shoulders as a result we had no option to euthanase the badger.

However, we have got our road casualty fox from Brydges Close Eastbourne back home.

Rescued a few weeks back after being hit by a car he could barely stand.

He had nasty cuts and a wound that needed treatment.

He has made massive improvements and our vets signed off his release.

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A bit reluctant at first but once he realised where he was, he was gone!

Rescuers Tony and Chris rushed to attend a young swan next to the Golden Jubilee Way bypass after a motorist saw the swan hit power lines.

After an extensive search, Chris and Tony found the swan in one of the small rivers.

Using nets and a swan hook Chris managed to push the swan towards Tony who hooked it out of the water.

Chris assessed on site and stopped a bleed on its beak.

It was then taken to the hospital and first aid given.

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He stayed with us for a few days before being released at Princes Park.

Well done rescuer Tony who has managed to catch and release several squirrels trapped inside wood burning stoves over the past week.

Pleased to have a break in the wet weather last week allowed us to get eight of our young feral pigeons out to the release pen.

Included in this group are two speckled white black and grey pigeon who survived Young Bird Sickness.

We are after an additional bird release site, if anyone has a suitable and secure piece of land.

Our two guillemots and the great skua are all doing well and developing nicely too.

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