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. 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... 14th March 2024 This week the picture shows some of the new cages we have installed in the Big Room. Thanks to a generous donation of worktops, Jim  and Ian have made up the stands for the cages to go on. At this time of year the hogs that have been in the recovery room during the  winter in the warmer temperatures are now coming up to release weight but need a time to harden off to the weather conditions outside. We always need more cages to move them to and we never seem to have enough. We are now able to keep 15 in the Big Room. Space is at a premium and all cages have to be used fully during the year. The Hogwards Shed has made life so much easier for hogs and  volunteers, but this is full at the moment with 28 hedgehogs. They are waking up.  We did sixteen bowls of food on Sunday some wake for a few days and then, if its cold, they go back for another nap. Lots of people are telling us that their ‘wild’  hedgehogs in their gardens are awake now. If you are lucky enough to have a  hog visit your garden a bowl of dog food and dish of water would be appreciated.  Hogs lose about 100 grams during hibernation so they will be hungry when they  wake up. We sent Ian and Jim out to pick up a Buzzard last week. I think they enjoyed the  task. When the Buzzard came in it was covered in sticky burs. Kay managed to  get them out with help from Jackie. The bird did not seem to be injured but would  not stand, collapsing in a heap after being cleaned up. This often happens when  the bird is stressed. It is very hungry and is eating everything we give it. We  checked on the C.C.T.V. and we found he is standing when he eats his food but  does not seem able to stretch out his feet. He has had a few days now to get  himself together but does not seem to be improving. We are taking him to the Vet  today to see what his chances are but they are not looking good at the moment. Another job that Jim and Ian are doing is to make a store room out of the old isolation room. They are installing shelves and cupboards  so that we can keep all our sundry supplies in one place. This should mean that there will not be so much stuff lying about. We use so  many bits and pieces and we are very limited for storage space. We never seem to have enough. Things like the plastic guinea pig cages  that we use for hedgehogs needing heat pads. When the tiny hedgehogs come in we can use twelve or so of these cages. Once the hogs are off the heat pads they go into the Towers cages and we have to store the  plastic ones for future use. We seem to be constantly  wondering where to stow things. We get a lot of cages and crates handed in and we don’t like to refuse them ‘Just in case’, the minute  we discard something, the next casualty needs just that thing, whatever it was. It will be good to have a spring clean and have a store  where anyone can go to find things. That is the theory anyway! We shall be keeping our eye on the weather during the next few weeks for spring releases. I do wish this rain would stop a bit  everywhere is so wet, then we can perhaps get things out. Pat Goff 7th March 2024 We are still busy preparing next year’s calendar, so I thought I would show one of the pictures we may be using. We have more than we  need to show our title for the calendar which is ‘Give It a Little More Time’. This picture shows Maggie the Badger just as she was  starting to feed for herself. She still needed supporting to hold her upright but was able to eat her mince and honey meal.  We were  thrilled when she started to eat for herself although due to her injuries it took many months to get her back to full health and release.   We did manage to release all the pigeons we have been looking after for some time while they grew back their feathers. The Buzzard we  have in the Big Flight still has some way to go yet. He will need a full tail before he is released.   We took in a Barn Owl a few weeks ago with a wing injury. The Vet had checked it  out and there was no fracture. He is now in the Longridge Aviary which is in the Big  Room so we can keep a close eye on him. He sleeps in his box all day but the  camera showed that at night he was shimmying down the wire to get his food and  going back up the same way. This was a little worrying as we were hoping that after  some time in cage rest he would be able to fly. We kept monitoring his progress and  we found a week or so later that he was able to fly the length of the aviary from  perch to box. He should now be able to improve as time goes on. He can then move  to an outside aviary with even more space. On Saturday Barbara went out to pick up a last year’s Cygnet found on the riverbank with a horribly broken wing. It was in a very poor state and Barbara took it straight  to the Vet where it had to be put to sleep. At least the poor bird did not have to  suffer a long, lingering, painful death. We find that often these younger birds do fly  too well and come across the river very low and get injured trying to go above the  bridges or get hit by vehicles when the get up high enough to get over. Barbara had a long trudge to get to the bird and what must have felt like a longer trudge back carrying quite a heavy young swan. We have taken delivery of five more hedgehog huts for the Big Room. Jim and Ian have made stands for them so they just have to have  the vinyl flooring fitted (yes our hogs have only the best fixtures and fittings) a quick check to make sure door catches are fitting  properly and they can accommodate another five hogs from the recovery room into the colder air to prepare for release. I must here  thank Stephanie who donated her old worktops after her new kitchen was fitted. They made part of the stands for the new cages and are super easy to clean. We still have sixty in our care and very time consuming they are. Thank you to the people kindly donating food,  towels, and newspapers. We used over 70 newspapers on Sunday on them all so you can see how quickly they are used. At the Centre our garden looks super at the moment with all the daffodils out. Walter has been cutting back all the trees and shrubs.  Spring is in the air at last.  Pat Goff 29th February 2024 We are now approaching the time when we try to release any casualty that has been with us during the winter for a bit longer than normal, due to weather conditions not being favourable. This week Barbara took the Tawny Owl that has been housed in the Undercover Aviary for several weeks. It was flying well and as there was a settled period of fairly dry weather instead of the constant rain of the whole winter, we decided the time was right for it to go. Barbara returned it close to where it was found, but I have no nice picture of it flying away to freedom as it was much too fast and was off before Barbara could get her phone ready. It is so difficult to get a picture of any bird of prey when they are released. They zoom out of the carrier seeming to know where they are going so quickly there really is no time. It was nice to see a fit and healthy bird returning to the wild. We have an assortment of doves and pigeons that had lost feathers after being hit by a car or having been in a tussle with a cat. They have been with us since late autumn but they are all fully feathered except the Collared Dove shown in the picture. He has almost grown back his tail which had completely gone as well as quite a lot of wing feathers. He needs a bit of building up as he has not been able to fly and use his muscles properly. One of the main things we can do for any injured wildlife is give them time. They can have a safe place,  food and water, and time to heal. Our 2025 calendar is focussing on this theme. Giving them Time. We have two Barn Owls that are very nearly ready to go. It is not fair to release these birds in poor weather as they will need to sort out their territory when they are released. It is a bit of a balancing act. We want to release them early enough for them to find a partner and breed but not too soon, if the weather will make it difficult for them to find food. In the wild a Barn Owls life expectancy is very short and we like to give them the best possible chance when we release them. Our three Cygnets are also looking very well. Our overwintering Cygnets are usually released around Easter. This is early this year but the winter has been relatively mild so hopefully the river weed is growing like our grass at home. It always is a worry when releasing youngsters into the wild. We have done what we can for them and then they have to go and fend for themselves. Thankfully the River Tweed has plenty of other young birds to help them out. Our little group of three will probably stay together for the summer. Swans take several years to mature, so they have time to learn river etiquette. Hedgehogs are waking up. Lots of bowls to fill on a daily basis now. Thank goodness for the Hogwards Shed. It has allowed us to keep hedgehogs during the winter in the right temperature so they can be released where they were found as soon as conditions are right. It has also been a very good thing for volunteers too. It’s cold cleaning cages in the shed, but so much easier than doing them outside. At least we have kept dry and out of the wind. Thank you to everyone supporting us with canned food, newspapers, towels and calciworms. Pat Goff