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... 3rd October 2024 This week the picture is of a young Gannet that was brought in. We usually get one or two of these birds in at this time of year. They are raised on one of the islands nearby, also at St. Abbs. They are fed by their parents until the are well grown, the adults then stop feeding their offspring and leave them on their own. When the youngster is hungry and able to fly they have to learn to catch their fish by themselves. Tough love but it must work most of the time. There are always the odd ones that get into trouble, or are not quite strong enough to cope or they may get caught up in very strong winds. That may have happened to this one as it was found beside a road. It has had a few days rest with us and as the winds had dropped we decided it should be released. The fisherman that usually helps us with releases like this was not available but fortunately one of the Eyemouth fishermen offered to take it. Barbara and Jackie picked up the Gannet from the Rollo Centre and met the fisherman at 5.15 a.m., a really early start. The fisherman took the bird on board and will take it out near St. Abbs amongst the other young birds. It was useful that he is used to handling Gannets as they sometimes get caught up in the nets and have to be released. Hopefully this young bird will be happy to be back in with its own kind. We are also now releasing the hedgehogs that came in earlier in the year before the weather gets too cold. Most of the babies that have been in this summer will not be heavy enough to be released in the next couple of weeks and they will be with us through the winter. Three of the older ones were released this weekend and there are a couple more for later in the week. We have three very tiny ones in and Barbara is hand feeding them. We have a lot around two or three hundred grams. The trouble is one day they can seem perfectly O.K. and then the next they are not eating and needing ‘First Aid’ treatment to help them along. It is a very big help to cover the costs of rearing and feeding these overwintering hogs if these little animals are sponsored. It makes a lovely gift and this year there is a special hedgehog calendar as a free gift to sponsors. All the hedgehogs featured have been in our care during the last year. If you would like to sponsor a hedgehog for yourself or as a gift please contact us at the David Rollo Centre on 01289302882 or call in to the Centre, to chose your hog. This week a Crow and Jackdaw that have been with us some time have been released. We also have three Collared Doves and a Feral Pigeon that I have taken home to one of our aviaries to soft release as they were hand reared. They are leaving the aviary in the morning and popping back in to roost in the aviary at night so they are doing well. This week we also took in another Feral Pigeon which had been brought in though a cat flap by the cat. The small injury on the pigeon we think was caused by the cat flap not the cat. We have put it on a course of antibiotics as the wound is a bit sore. I will try and get a picture of our three tiny hoglets for next week. Pat Goff 26th September 2024 Harriet the Hare has been released. She had done so well in the Lomax Aviary. She had plenty of nice clean grass and lots of extra weeds and greenery. When we caught her up this week she weighed nearly one kilo. She is really wild and can run like the wind so she was ready to go. We were not sure where to release her so that she was well away from traffic and farm machinery. In the end Dick took her near to Cheswick where hares are often seen. There was plenty of grass to hide in and no fields nearby were to be harvested or ploughed. I really enjoyed rearing the little leveret. They are never easy and always difficult to take the bottle properly, but once they get going they grow very quickly. I hope she lives a good life. I have also taken three Collared Dove youngsters and a feral pigeon home to soft release from our aviary. They were far too tame so we are keeping away from them. The only time they see us is when we feed them and then that is a very speedy process. They are already keeping together instead of coming to us which is really good news. We shall open up the aviary when we get a bit of nicer weather or at least get rid of the mist and fog. Hedgehogs are still coming in very small. We are using all our heat pads the bigger hogs at over 500 grams are in the towers but we have twelve tiny ones all under 350 grams. The weather is so unkind to them, they have difficulty keeping warm when they are so tiny. I wonder sometimes that with all the difficulties these little animals have to contend with that there are any surviving at all.  We keep thinking we are going to slow down taking in hoglets but they are still arriving. The picture this week shows a small hog that has a nasty abscess on its shoulder. We think it was caused by a bite from a dog perhaps, and must be very sore. He almost looks as though he is screwing his face up in discomfort as we clean and treat the wounds. We have to make sure the abscess can drain freely. He is also being treated with a good strong antibiotic to help clear the infection. Several of the hogs have been sponsored but there are still plenty left if anyone would like to choose one, there are plenty left. It seems from what we hear, that finding a suitable name for the hedgehog can be the hardest part of being a sponsor. We are certainly going to have a busy winter. Thank you to everyone who has been donating canned loaf food for the hedgehogs and dropping off newspapers. We do get through so many. Last week we found someone had left us some cleaning sponges, a bottle of fairy liquid, some trays of pate dog food for the smallest hogs and a packet of chocolate biscuits for the volunteers. Whoever you are we are very grateful. We always enjoy receiving donations in kind, it is very thoughtful and very much appreciated. The Kestrel is still in moult but is flying now so should not be long with us. The Barn Owl is in the Big Flight to build up flight muscles before he goes. We want to get him out in about ten days or so before the winter starts to set in. The Tawny Owls are also coming along nicely, just needing to build up a bit more strength before they go. Pat Goff 19th September 2024 We are still seeing little hedgehogs coming in at the rate of one or two each day. Sadly several have died shortly after arrival. If I have counted up the cages and little sheds correctly we have 29 in at the moment. A handful of these will be able to go out into the wild in the next couple of weeks, but once we get into mid October it is going to be too late to get them settled into their territory before winter sets in. They will then have to stay with us through the winter. We are still getting in hoglets weighing between two and three hundred grams. We are hoping these are autumn born youngsters. We usually get them in this size at the end of the month but this year spring was early and autumn is also early so we are hoping there will not be the usual fifteen or so that come in early in October. Our hedgehog shed will be overflowing again if they do. No doubt we will find room for them all in the end. All the hogs that come in to us stay with us until they are fit and ready for release. They are monitored daily during that time. We don’t ‘farm’ them out for other people to look after. We do know now which hogs will be here through the winter and these hogs will be available for sponsoring. Barbara is going to be busy taking photos to allow people to choose the hog they want to sponsor. We like a hog to have a name as well as the number we give them when they arrive. Give the Rollo Centre a ring on 10289 302882 for details if you would like to sponsor. This week the picture shows a Kestrel. It came in when it was found on the ground clutching a dead pigeon but did not seem to be able to fly. There was nothing to show why it was not flying. Everything was in the right place and no fractures could be found. It was the correct weight, so we decided to give it a few days cage rest in the ‘Claw and Talon’ room. It was happy to eat the mice and chicks it was given, so we moved it to the Longridge Aviary after ten days. It did not move for 24 hours but then we saw it fly across the aviary. It was moulting. We saw quite a few feathers when we cleaned out every day. When the ringer came he checked it out and said it was in fine condition but it was heavily moulting so to keep it a few weeks before releasing it. It will then be a case of all change in the aviaries so the Kestrel can have a bigger one before it goes. We are still waiting to release some Collared Doves and a pigeon but it is finding someone to take them so that they can be fed for a few days. This year we are not having a Christmas Fair but we are taking tables at various events. We shall be holding a Special Christmas Raffle and tickets will be available from the Rollo Centre or at any of the events we go to. I will let you know where these are as they come up. The prizes this year are £100 Marks and Spencer Voucher. Bottles of various kinds, several different sorts of hampers and a fabulous cross stitch framed picture of a Tawny Owl. Tickets will be on sale from the end of September and will be drawn on 16th December. Pat Goff