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... 24th April 2025 The Thursday team had a surprise last week when we turned up for our shift. As we went into the Big Room we were faced with an open hedgehog hutch door and the hedgehog was not where it was supposed to be. There were four of us that morning and, after quickly shutting the outside door, we spent the next twenty minutes or so looking everywhere, pulling out the washer and everything from under the cupboards. We found traces that it had been roaming around but no hedgehog. As we were beginning to get a bit desperate, Barbara found it. It was curled up in an old rolled up yoga mat, shown in the photo. Not sure what the yoga mat was doing there, but we put it back for in case it ever happens again! Jackie was one hundred percent sure she had checked and double checked all the doors before she left on Wednesday night, as she does every night, so it will now be known as Houdini. The hedgehog is fine after its adventure and, as it was obviously keen to go, we put it in an outside hutch and it was one of the first to be released. The warm weather has brought the hibernation months to an end and the release programme for all the overwinter hedgehogs started this week. We are putting them from the Big Room into the outside pens to acclimatise and are also releasing them from the shed. If you were kind enough to sponsor one of the hedgehogs, you will receive your email update with notes on its progress and a photo. It should be with you before the end of the month so please keep an eye on your spam folders to make sure you don’t miss it. If it doesn’t arrive then please get in touch. It's fair to say that it doesn’t help to be squeamish volunteering at the Rollo Centre. The hedgehog hutches can often smell fairly bad. Feeding dead mice, chicks and the occasional rabbit to the birds of prey also takes some getting used to, but it would be fair to say I found my limit this week! Jackie has been taking an NVQ course in looking after wildlife and has been learning about the nutritional requirements of different species. We have a crow staying with us that was brought in three weeks ago not able to fly because of damage to its wings. It is staying in one of the small aviaries until it starts to improve and is one of the first to benefit from this knowledge with the introduction of a new, varied diet which the empty bowls show it is enjoying. This includes raw minced beef, lovingly rolled into 9-gram portions by Pat, half a sachet of cat food, a chick, some ground insect vitamins mix and a Morio. “What’s that?”, do I hear you ask? Well, it turns out it’s a huge maggot type worm! When it reared up on its back legs in the tub I jumped back with a shriek, and it took me a few minutes to recover from the shock, much to the amusement of my fellow colleagues. I will be leaving that job to somebody else! The Easter tabletop sale on Saturday was enjoyed by a good number of people, with some lovely handmade gifts for sale. We also had some sizeable donations from people unable to attend in person. Thank you to everyone who has supported us to raise the money needed for the portable incubators, they will make a real difference. We are now able to buy two of these and Pat will give further details when they arrive. Gill Powell 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