Latest News "Swan Notes" News items written by Trust members and volunteers and usually appearing in the “Berwick Advertiser" newspaper each  week. Unfortunately, sister newspaper the “Berwickshire News” are no longer following suit. For those unable to read these items, and  those living outside the Berwick area, here are the last few editions.. 13th December 2018 Pat and I sometimes grumble that finding different things to write about in the winter months is like drawing teeth. Well, as I sit here  nursing my tender jaw after a tooth extraction yesterday, I have to say coming up with topics for the Swan Trust column doesn’t compare  at all to difficult dental surgery. The outdoor hogs may all have gone into hibernation, there will be no tiny chicks or ducklings for a few  months, but there’s always a story to tell. Kerry Rogers of  Scremerston popped in during last Wednesday morning’s cleaning  and feeding session to return a pet carrier she’d borrowed to release the feisty  rabbit with the eye injury I mentioned in last week’s article. Kerry had spotted the  rabbit at Tweedmouth School, totally drenched in driving rain with its damaged  eye. She knew he wouldn’t survive long if he was left out in the rain; he was so  weak he allowed her to put him in the car and bring him to the Rollo Centre.   After a couple of weeks being fed on choice cuts of carrot and broccoli, and as I  said last week, literally fighting fit, Kerry and her twin daughters Ellie and Lucy  took the rabbit back close to where it had been found, making sure there was  plenty of tree cover and undergrowth as protection from predators. Kerry said: “I  thought when we opened the carrier door he would just shoot off, relieved to be  free again, but he hopped about our feet and stayed close by for a little while  before heading off into the bushes.” Another recent newcomer to the Rollo Centre is a cygnet that Kay and Jackie went  to collect from Lowick after a householder phoned to report it had landed in his  garden and couldn’t get out. He’d been hand feeding it for a week but it still hadn’t  been able to muster enough strength to escape the garden. At 5.4 kilos the cygnet was underweight, so Kay and Jackie brought it back to the Rollo Centre for a bit of TLC in the enclosure with the  small pool. “He was incredibly hungry,” said Jackie, “When we first put food down to him he practically stuck his head in the bucket and  ate continuously.” Kay is going to see how he progresses, and he’ll either be released fully fit and up to target weight or will join the  other swans and cygnets in the big pool enclosure to stay until the spring. My recent molar removal has demonstrated that while my fellow volunteers have incredible compassion for wild animals, they’re not so  sympathetic when it comes to human suffering. Una asked what time my dental appointment was, just so she could say she thought it  would be at ‘tooth hurty’; Jim (probably because he’s the trust joiner) recalled how his uncle had a set of wooden dentures in the war.  Never mind, I’ll soon be demolishing the breaktime biscuits again.   Elfrieda Waren 6th December 2018 A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Rollo Centre - well, in the recovery room to be precise. I went in to make a start on the daily cleaning and feeding routine and found an empty hedgehog cage with a sticky note saying GONE TO SCHOOL. Blimey, I thought, they get a comfy bed and delicious food, but I didn’t know we were giving them an education as well. But Kay had taken this particular little guy to Chirnside Primary School to give the children a short lesson on hedgehogs, the threats to their survival, and how the Trust helps support the local hog population. The class had clearly been listening very carefully, as they presented us with a giant ‘hog hamper’ full of tins and pouches of meaty pet food, old hand towels for cosy bedding and even newspapers for lining the hogs’ cages. It’s great that children get to see a wild animal at such close quarters, and good for them to learn how they can play an important role in ensuring these shy creatures continue to thrive in the hedgerows and woodlands in their local area. Most of the outdoor hogs in Hotchi Mews have settled down for their winter hibernation, except one which Kay says is still chomping his way through two bowlfuls of food a day. Milligan, the hog who can’t be released into the wild and lives permanently in my garden because of a lung condition, is also determinedly toddling out of his box every day to stoke up for winter. Today though he seemed more reluctant than usual, and waited in his doorway while I pushed the bowl towards him. Any day now he will stop coming out altogether, and that will be him asleep for about four months. Most of the hedgehogs in the recovery room are quite happy to be picked up for weighing and transferring into a holding box while their cage is cleaned out and their food and water are replenished. The same can’t be said for the young adult rabbit that came in with an injured eye; this has healed and he’s now fighting fit – quite literally. Jackie says the door has to be firmly shut and two people need to be in attendance to clean his cage as he flails and kicks wildly in a bid to escape. He was all set for release late last week but the weather was so wet and windy he’s had a few more days surrounded by carrots, broccoli and sweet-smelling hay. Don’t forget there’s still a chance of winning one of the fantastic prizes in our raffle which gets drawn next Wednesday 12 December at 1pm. Top prize is a £50 Morrisons voucher, and other prizes include a set of cook’s kitchen aids, a port and cheese hamper and a set of children’s toys. Tickets are just 50p each and are on sale at the Rollo Centre on the Ramparts Business Park opposite the recycling centre. Elfrieda Waren 29th November 2018 Sometimes as winter approaches we seem to have lots of hedgehogs and a few swans with not much to write about. This year it is a bit  different as we have a good variety of local wildlife to report about. Our hedgehogs are in varying stages of sleepiness. We are trying to keep the little ones awake until they are hibernating weight, while  hoping that the bigger ones outside nod off quickly. When they go to sleep they have dried food which is changed each week and they  don’t make any mess. It was chilly in the rain this morning feeding and cleaning the ones  that are determined to stay awake. We have a very energetic wild rabbit with a sore eye. She has to have eye drops in each day and an oral antibiotic So it is taking two fit people to deal with it. The amount of fur  it deposits on the anchor person in the medication process is hard to believe. We have  been telling the volunteers that its all good experience for them.  Our Claw and Talon Room has been occupied by three birds this week. A Sparrow Hawk  with wing damage is another difficult patient. Kay has several puncture wounds received  when moving the bird to a clean cage.  A Barn Owl that was very easy to deal with some days ago has recovered well from his  R.T.A. and makes a dive as the cage is opened. A Tawny Owl that sat in a huddle last  week is due to move out to an aviary to test his wings instead of doing circuits of the  room when he dodges the towel used to grab him whilst his cage is cleaned. The swans and cygnets are all doing very well. In fact our two swans are becoming very  friendly which is nice to see. The cygnets are growing up well, two are already getting  lots of white feathers. As I was doing their food buckets today two of them were on the  edge of the pond flapping their wings in unison hard enough to lift their feet a few  inches off the ground. Its amazing the draught they cause when two of them try it.  As well as looking after this lot we managed to organise a Christmas Fayre this weekend, and thanks to everyone who came along. We  made a total of just over £1,000 when everything was totted up. I have a few more thanks now. Firstly to another Mrs. Rollo who came  along to pay the pipes for us. She was really good and managed to get some donations whilst she was playing. I must not forget my  grand daughter Caroline (Jasper) who took one of our notice boards along to the end of the street to persuade people to come along.  Thank you to everyone who came along to help or worked some lovely craft items for our sales table. Thanks also the Berwick Baptist  Church for the use of their hall which is always nice and warm and just the right size.  Pat Goff