Spring ?

 Before........

 

A skinny badger was being fed by a kind farmers wife near Scarboro. He was sleeping rough in the buildings and had badger fight wounds to his rump and neck. The RSPCA collected him and he arrived here after being seen by Mike Jones, Battleflatts vets. He ate well, was given antibiotics and rested up under a heat lamp.

 

 

After.........

 

He was ready for release and was boxed up for his return. He's put on weight, looked clean and rested

and we took him home. The farmers son took us up the fields which was in the middle of 3 different setts.

 

Gone..............

 

He lifted his head and drank in the smell of home as we lifted the box from the car. We had to tip him out where he ran down hill for home. His sett was on the sloping woodland in the release picture. To get there he followed the cover of the hedgerows and we saw him in the gaps going fast and strong for home. Lovely.

 

 

 

 Bella with 2 leverets , the first of the Spring youngsters. They've been joined by 2 Mallard ducklings and 2 baby rabbits.........so it begins !

 

This newly woken hedgehog was found in a fen trap and came in for some food and assessment. He's doing well and can go out this week. The circumstances of his capture are being dealt with by the North Yorkshire Police.

 

 

I cared for a tired thin Guillemot found beached after heavy storms in the North Sea. Tod German at The Sea Life Centre, Scarboro' had some taken in too. I took mine to him so they could be cared for together. Tod does a superb job with them and here they are looking good in a sea water pool .

He was caring for 6 Guillemots, a Razorbill, a Puffin and a skinny Gannet.

 

 

Here's RSPCA In Geoff Edmond, me and Tod,  looking over the sea birds being rehabbed .



Variety is the Spice of Life.


Another rta otter cub , she was 3.1kg and knocked near Skerne, Driffield. The finder and local police took her to vets at Bridlington. She was knocked out and had lost a canine tooth and had a badly broken front leg. Otters will not tolerate any external fixations on breaks so she was sadly put to sleep.








 
 

                                                                                      
This big badger was found sat in an open shed near Lockton. He had badger fight wounds to the rump and neck . I managed to box him and he was seen by the vets who prescribed a course of antibiotics. He fared well, ate up and I managed to inject him every other day. He returned to his territory in the snow and frost. His claws tip tapped on the cold hard ground as he belted off back to his sett.
 

I was traveling back on the Stamford Bridge road where a rta dead pheasant was being eaten by this male Kestrel. He was then run over by the car in front of me, right place right time. He was rolled over and was stunned and flicking. I gathered him up and took him straight to the vets where Mike Jones gave him steroids to counter the shock. He came home and rested and fed well . He was released back and flew well into nearby woodland.

 

This Tawny was caught up in fishing line and had a bruised wing. He came for some quiet time , fed well and was released back.

 

 

I have been in court again as badger expert witness. 4 men were caught near Harewood digging an active badger sett last June. We got there in the end and they were convicted. I wish the punishments were more realistic but a guilty is a guilty. These men are well known in Leeds ,I always hope they will learn a lesson from being in court but.............

 

We need some sunshine and warm weather, it is cold, frosty, bitter wind and snow flurries, spring is on hold, roll on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And another ......................

During the freezing snowy weather this little otter cub was found close to water in a stack yard. She was taken in by the householders and had rather an exciting 5 days in their care ! She fell full length down a spiral staircase, was watched a bit too closely by the family dog and was fed on tuna steak and pilchards.
She began to look unhappy and thankfully I collected her for some tlc. I took her straight to the vets and she was re hydrated and given antibiotics.
I whizzed up some fish in a blender which she ravenously tucked into.
She needed some peace and quiet and I left her to rest in a warm shed with heat lamp and a warm fleece lined box. She had a fine set of teeth and was soon fuffing at me to keep my distance, she was soon on raw whole trout .

Her tail didn't look right and I took her for the vets to look at. Her tail had some kind of injury , either frost bite or trauma and she had to have an operation to remove the dead tissue. Mike Jones the vet loves otters and made a wonderful job of the procedure. I'd spoken to Ed Heap in the New Forest and he reassured us that a wild otter can manage with a shortened tail.
She soon came home and was tucked up safely again in the warm shed. She was on antibiotics and continued to eat well. He tail was dry, clean and healed well. I took her down to The Chestnut Centre once the snow had thawed and she is soon to join the others in the New Forest for rearing. Hopefully they will return in 2014 for release.

I've just released back 5 rta Tawnies and a Barn Owl all brought in after being found on road sides.
They must have been hunting for food in the hard weather and been clipped by cars. 2 more Tawnies and Little Owl didn't make it.

The over wintering hedgehogs are doing well, some eating still, others sleeping .
The days are getting longer so roll on some fine weather.

Otter Cubs

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I got a phone call from a worried householder in the hamlet of Fryton. They had been seeing to their guinea pigs at teatime and there in the garden was a young otter cub. They live close to a flooded stream and this little dog otter was wet , cold and all alone. I quickly got there and put the bedraggled cub in my coat to warm him up. I asked the concerned locals to look out for siblings of this lost cub. Otters can have 3 -4 cubs and they too could be in trouble. I came home and manged to get some warm re hydration fluid into him and left him to rest in a warm box.  I rang  Roger and Carol Heap of the Chestnut Centre in Derbyshire for current advice on care of young otters. I've cared for cubs before but wanted to talk it through with them and we decided the cub should go to them the next day.

They had a cub from Wales in and a pair are better reared together. He cuddled straight up to the Welsh cub and we were all happy the 2 were together.
On arriving home a message on the phone told me another cub had been found in Slingsby and was being cared for by Peter Smithson , the wildlife camera man. I went straight out and Peter had found her in a shed just 2 fields away from the first cub. He kept her warm and quiet.
I took her for the once over by Mike Jones the vet as I had the first cub and he gave her antibiotics.

She took to a bottle well and was soon full of warm fluids and sleeping in the warm box.
The third cub was found that night in the next door garden to the first cub. The wonderful householders of Fryton had been out at frequent intervals listening for the high pitched whistling of lost and lonely otter cubs and their determination had found this last survivor. He snuggled into his sister here after drinking. I was up during the night to feed them. The next day they were all reunited in Derbyshire. No mother otter would have abandoned 3calling youngsters so she must have been killed we think.
They have all gone down to The New Forest Wildlife Park where Ed Heap and his wonderful staff will take great care of them. It takes at least a year to rehab otter cubs, they live with their mothers for that long so they can go on to lead a wildlife in 2014. They rear them wild and hands off .
They were very beautiful and amazing to have in the hand. What a start to 2013, Happy New Year !

Late Barn Owls.

 

 

 3 late Barn Owl youngsters are residing here for a while. The little fluffy male was found sat out yesterday in the rain. He was wet and straggly and far too thin. A night in the warm cupboard with food has put him right this morning.  He'd managed to eat of his own accord in the night so is out and away from human contact in a warm dry hutch in the garden. He should do well but is only about 4/5 weeks old so he has a way to go yet.

The older pair were put together in a small aviary with barrel box for shelter. Both are flying and ate well over night . They will need soft releasing with back up of food and barn owl nest boxes to roost in .Let's hope for a dry, mild winter .

 

 

 

Swans appreciate other swans in rehab and these 2 came in with a couple of days of each other.

The big adult male is an old friend of mine, we have crossed paths many times. He is the adult breeding male from Beck Mills.He has fathered many broods of cygnets on the pond on Welham Road and has been fed by many local people.  He is BTO metal rung but has a small round hole in the webbing of one of his feet so is instantly recognisable when he's out of the water. He was found under telegraph wires near the golf course in Norton. He has a slightly dropped bruised wing and is on anti inflammatory's but no breaks so he should do well.

 

His new friend is an extremely lucky bird after having an altercation with a train !

The train driver hit this flying swan and she spun round three times in front of the moving train.

The RSPCA collected her and she was x rayed and cared for overnight at Battleflatts vets at Stamford Bridge, where she was very flat. She came here after picking up and the pair of them are chatty and eating well.



 

 

 

 

 

 







Badger Cull.

Ralph Underhill cartoon, need I say more .........................................................................

Marsh Harrier

A female Marsh Harrier was found flitting about in a game cover crop up on the Wolds by a farmer. He rung the East Yorks Red Kite's Nigel Puckrin who brought the bird here.
She was light but seemed in good form with no breaks etc.
She had a brood patch so she must have been a breeding bird.




I left her to rest in a warm shed with food after re hydrating her.
She had a thin line, with chips on her feathers underneath which usually means they have hit overhead cables. So think she must have been bruised and unable to hunt
and got weaker and weaker.

Here's Mike Jones the vet giving her the once over.

I heard there was a roost of Marsh Harriers up on the Wolds close to where she was found with 10 birds dropping into uncut corn.
The crop had been harvested in the time she was here.

She faired well , put on weight and was soon ready to be off.

After discussions with Craig we decided to release her at North Duffield. There had been up to 15 Marsh Harriers dropping into long rank grass on the Ings by the river.






She was bto ringed and quickly released. She flew spectacularly well , high with perfect wing beats ,
back out where she belonged. Always a thrilling sight to see a big bird out in its element.





Update.
She has been seen a few times from the hide at North Duffield , the only ringed female , coming in to roost with juveniles and an adult male.

Wonderful.

Thankyou to Craig and the team at Lower Derwent Valley.





Barn Owls.
The 4 Barn Owl youngsters mentioned in the previous blog were returned to their nest box for release.
Andy Menzies had been and put in an inspection hatch in the nest box and fashioned a cage to go on the front of the box bob hole.
The birds, now all flying and looking grand were returned home. Andy fed them for a few days contained in the box. Once they were eating well and settled, the cage covering the bob hole was quietly removed and the young birds were free to come and go.
Young Barn Owls tend to roost back in their nest box home. So we decided to continue with the food and Andy kindly went to feed them every other day. They did return to feed and its good to know they are back in the wild just where they should be.
My thanks to Andrew Menzies, the householders and their kind neighbours in Swinton for looking out for these lovely birds.

This young bird was found collapsed on a ledge outside a nest box. He was very weak, cold and alone. The farming family that found him took him straight to Battleflatts vets at Stamford Bridge.
Mark the vet got some fluids into him and warmed him up.
He's doing well, eating growing. I have to be very careful not to spend time near him as he would imprint very easily.
So I am minimal round him and he hisses crossly at me when I put food in for him. He should do well , lets hope for a mild November when he will be ready to go.





Badger Persecution.

A farmer from Bulmer in March this year filled an active badger sett with 5.000 gallons of cattle slurry. I received a phone call about it and PC Jez Walmsley the Wildlife Crime Officer at Malton and I went out for a look.
The sett was full of slurry pooled up high in the entrances, horrendous to see.
I photographed the scene , took notes and left Jez knocking on farm house doors.

Malcom Foster pleaded not guilty and we went to Scarborough Magistrates Court for a one day trial.

It was a hard day, the defending barrister was a difficult arrogant man. He had to mind his manners after being told by the Senior Magistrate to moderate his tone with me the witness.

Its always hard and daunting to stand in the witness box but the badgers can't stand up for them selves , so has to be done.










At the end of a long hard day, Malcom Foster was found guilty of recklessly damaging a badger sett.
He was fined £500 with  £700 costs and a £15 surcharge.

The lives of a colony of badgers is worth £1215.00

The badger cull and the shooting of badgers in Somerset and Gloucester looks likely to go ahead.
There has been a big push to make the government think again and wait for the vaccine to make its mark.
They don't seem to be listening , the farming lobby are baying for badgers blood and being so influential the government seem to want to listen to them first.

To allow the legal killing of a protected species is a dangerous precident. Worrying times.