Latest News Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Sadly bird flu is now moving on from sea birds, to other species of birds, including geese, ducks and swans, and the Trust is receiving many calls from the public spotting sick birds. There is no treatment available and sick birds will often die within a day of showing symptoms. We cannot rescue or accept sick birds at the Centre as this would compromise those birds already in our care and could lead to the Centre being forced to shut down. Our advice, painful as it is to give, is to leave the bird and let nature take its course. Do not touch a dead bird or let a dog near it. The local Council is responsible for collecting them in a controlled manner. In some cases you may report findings to DEFRA on 03459 335577 or visit their web site for detailed advice here. *************************** "Swan Notes" News items written by Trust members and volunteers and usually appearing in the “Berwick Advertiser" newspaper each week. For those unable to read these items, and those living outside the Berwick area, here are the last few editions... 17th April 2025 As I was going into the Rollo Centre last week, I noticed, as we crossed the bypass bridge, that there were a good few more swans congregating where the Whiteadder joins the Tweed. There must have been a dozen or more. Just then I saw a group of six or seven swans flying towards the estuary. These must be singletons. Swans too young to pair up, or last years cygnets grouping with other birds. This is nice to see but also, this year, a bit of a worry. Avian Influenza is only forty or so miles away and there it resulted in the death of at least six mute swans. This is one of the times of year when Mute Swans move around. They are either leaving mum and dad and setting out on their own, or leaving the rape fields now that it has grown too high. River weed will be growing now so birds will come for food. It is to be hoped the incoming birds are not bringing the disease with them. D.E.F.R.A. has announced that all keepers of captive birds in Northumberland must keep them indoors or under cover. I just have two little Silkie Chickens and I have had to make them as safe as I can. At the Centre we shall have to make further plans to keep any casualties safe and free from disease. We shall not be able to take any sick water birds whilst the restrictions are ongoing. Swans are such a big part of the town and the river scene here. Let us hope that this awful disease will pass us by. For your safety please be very careful around any sick birds and keep well away from dead ones. There is no cure for this disease and most birds will die in a day or so, which is horrible to watch but we can get no treatment for such birds and no Vet will deal with them. Some happier news now. We received photos of the Barn Owl release and it was lovely to see how well the bird flew after it was set free. Dick took an Eider Drake to release near the pier. Somehow, it had managed to fly into a wall. He had a cut on his beak which soon healed and grazes on legs and feet. He enjoyed the water in the little pond for a couple of days but refused to eat, so we though it best to send him on his way again. He was a beautiful bird in full spring plumage so hopefully, he will be back at sea, choosing a lady friend. Our hedgehogs are all doing very well. We only have half a dozen still asleep. This means a lot of feeding and cleaning at the moment. The first twelve will be going out in the next week so the numbers will gradually reduce. One of our latest arrivals had received a nasty dog bite to the back of its neck. We have been cleaning and treating the wound, which had become infected, for a couple of weeks. We noticed on Friday that it is at last healing cleanly, although it was a deep wound. Please remember that Saturday 19th April Jackie and Mandy are having a small sales table in the office at the David Rollo Centre on Ramparts, Berwick Upon Tweed, from 10.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is to be a tombola, instant raffle and lots of Easter treats. Mandy will have a craft table and if the weather is fine a Bric-a-Brac stall. Do come along. Proceeds are being used for a Brinsea Incubator for birds and young mammals. Pat Goff 10th April 2025 The barn owl that we have been writing about over the last couple of months was released this week which is great news. A number of barn owls are brought into the Rollo Centre each year, generally after being hit by vehicles and many don’t survive, but over the last few years an average of two per year have been ringed and released.  I have been reading a beautifully illustrated book called “The Owl: A Biography” by the naturalist Stephen Moss and it has some fascinating information about the life of barn owls that I’d like to share. The barn owl has been around in the UK for about 5,500 years but has been uncovered in historical remains over 10,000 years ago in the Middle East.  They are found widely across the world reaching Australia, the Falklands and even Hawaii.  In the 1940’s, barn owls began to turn up in New Zealand, assumed to have hitched rides on boats but in the early 1980’s, they were discovered inside the wheel housing of a Boeing 747 at Auckland International Airport and must have hitched a ride from Australia given the insects that were in their stomachs. Barn owls have been called ghost owls, due to their colouring, and also screech owls, due to their call which can sound like a kind of scary spectre.  They are a different colour and pattern to other owls, very pale and plain, with a lovely heart shaped disk that frames the face.  They have large, rounded wings and the dense soft feathers mean they are virtually silent in flight.  The male is white underneath and surprisingly they have been found to hunt more successfully when there is a full moon, it has been measured that voles freeze when they see them for a measured five seconds longer when the bird is very white underneath!  Although they mostly hunt either at dawn or dusk, or during the night itself, they also regularly do so by day.  Usually following a period of rain when flying has been impossible.  Their soft feathers quickly become waterlogged if they fly in the rain.  They have been known to get into trouble falling into sources of drinking water, perhaps seeing their reflection and leaning too far forward. Barn owls generally nest in barns where there is a good supply of mice, but they are also regularly found breeding in the towers of castles and churches.  Some pairs roost together throughout the autumn and winter, calling to each other and sometimes preening each other.  They are faithful to one another and to their nesting site; they and their descendants may use the same nest for at least twenty or thirty years.  Typically, they lay between four and six eggs in mid-April, the female incubates them, and the male brings the food.  They fledge between seven and a half and nine weeks later.  The number of chicks that reach the fledging stage depends on the supply of voles and other food in that particular year and in leaner years the parents will favour the stronger two chicks.  In 2022, three youngsters were brought into the Rollo Centre that were stranded when the tree they were nesting in was cut down.  All three were hand reared and released although one of the three was always a bit weaker and did come back for a second visit to feed it up. Like all birds, these lovely owls are threatened by loss of habitat and changes in farming methods and it is rewarding that we are able to help even a few of them. Gill Powell 3rd April 2025 Thank you Gill for explaining what happened to the poor Cygnet from Eyemouth. Such a sad ending. We seem to have a lot of sad endings but the good ones are the ones we try to focus on and remember. It was good to see that the Buzzard and Tawny Owl we have been caring for, have both been released. We have also had the Barn Owl ringed and she – it is a female, shown by a very speckled chest – is being released this evening, Monday, as we have a window of four or five days nice weather. The picture this weeks shows a young Carrion Crow, one of last years hatchings we think. He is unable to fly far as he has a band of white feathers on one wing which have snapped in half. He will have to stay with us until he moults in new feathers. Some white feathers, on Corvids particularly, can be caused by poor diet when the bird is in the nest. We are trying to feed this bird a very good, nutritious diet so that when the new feathers come through in a couple of months time, they will be in the best possible condition. Crows are very intelligent birds, they can be fascinating to watch. We have to keep an eye on him to make sure he is not hiding any spare food around his aviary, which is natural behaviour of these birds in the wild. We need him to eat the main part of his dinner so that he can get well. It can be a bit like children wanting pudding and not eating the mince and tatties.  The hedgehogs are all beginning to wake up now and some will be outside soon, I think next week. If the weather stays like this they will be able to go back to the wild early this year. Kay was telling me we are using over 100 cans of meat each week now so a very big thank you to those kind folk bringing us canned food. We are also busy checking equipment and supplies needed for the spring influx of lost nestlings and orphans of all kinds. Jackie has been doing an intensive course on wildlife rehabilitation which has given us new insight into feeding and treating wildlife. For example, some of the bird feeding is being changed to give a much more suitable diet for each species. We are trying to make sure we have all the ingredients for these meals in stock, so that we can do our best for them right from the start. We are also trying different treatments that are available. We have been caring for wildlife for well over 30 years but we are still learning and new ideas are coming along all the time. It is amazing that when we check up on problems we have, like the white feathers in black birds, we find that there are several research studies going on around the country at different universities. We are wanting to buy two Brinsea incubation boxes. This will keep tiny mammals and nestling birds in a comfortable warm environment much better than a heat pad where the heat is all underneath. They are not cheap, but Jackie and Mandy are doing a table top sale in the office at the Rollo Centre on Ramparts Business Park Berwick Upon Tweed on Saturday 19th April, Easter Saturday. They have lots of craft items, sales goods, cards and cakes and a chocolate tombola. All the proceeds will go to the purchase of the incubation boxes. Please come along if you can. Pat Goff