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... 20th February 2025 First of all this week I must thank Gill, who has covered the jottings for the past few weeks while I had my cataracts sorted. It was such a great help. Many thanks Gill. It seems to take such a long time to get both eyes done. All I need now is a new pair of glasses and I shall be back to normal. I was in at the Rollo Centre on Sunday and checked out all the hedgehogs. We still have some that are not co-operating and putting on weight as they should. One poor little thing, despite all our efforts, weighs just three grams more than it did when it came in three weeks ago at 308 grams. The majority now are either asleep in the big shed or in the Big Room to go to sleep in the cool. I looked at the weather forecast for later this week and temperatures are set to be much higher for a few days so they will probably all wake up and have a day or two eating. On the bird front we are keeping a close watch on the Bird Flu numbers on the D.E.F.R.A. site. We are, like all rescue centres, having to take precautions to keep this awful disease away from our premises. The reports we have had show that it seems to be striking Mute Swans this time. This could be due to swans taking to the fields to find grass and crops to eat and are meeting groups of geese who are well known to carry the sickness. We have no swans on site at the moment but we have several birds of prey and must keep them safe. We will not bring in any water bird that is sick. If a bird has a clear injury we are able to isolate it providing we can get appropriate treatment and will then take it in. We hate being in this predicament but we have to take care. Barbara went out to a swan that was causing traffic problems in the town at the Castle Hotel last week, but when she got there the bird had gone to the train station. She found the bird with a police escort. It was a big bird, and too far from the water to be herded down through the park. Barbara had the swan bag and fortunately the policeman was able to help her bag the bird up. He also kindly offered to help her carry it down to the river as it was unharmed just in the wrong place. It was after 6 p.m. and thankfully the officer had a decent torch to light the path down. They took a handle each, which was just as well as it was a long, steep walk and the swan very heavy. Barbara said she would not have been able to manage it on her own. It was a dark pathway and she was glad to have a police escort to a safe release site for the bird. The swan was quite pleased to see the water again and went off into the river without a backward glance. Jackie took the photo this week and has been providing the pictures for the past few weeks. This is a Barn Owl that we are having to monitor for a while as it has a wing injury. It has been X-rayed but this proved inconclusive, a fracture could not be seen. The bird is able to fly but we have yet seen it fly strongly up. It was very thin when it came in so, hopefully it will get better as it gets fitter. Pat Goff 13th February 2025 This week saw the release of a few birds that had regained strength and were ready to go: three pigeons, one of the two buzzards and the tawny owl.  This leaves us with the kestrel, who is now flying well, and a recently admitted buzzard. To give the best help to the animals in our care, we are continually trying out new ideas that we have heard about either online, from other rescue centres or from training courses.  Jackie recently learnt about the value of giving birds of prey some grassy perches to sit on whilst they are in the Claw and Talon area for observation.  We previously provided logs, but the birds often sat on the floor.  The perches are covered in artificial grass.   This week’s picture shows the tawny owl making good use of one of them. As a result of this continued learning, managing the hedgehog feeding has become like running an upmarket café with cheese and “soup” now added to the menu of meat and mealworms.  No prizes for guessing what they like to eat first!  Not all of them are getting this special treatment, but where they are struggling to put on weight the variety is intended to give them some additional nutrients. For the last couple of weeks before its release, the buzzard had been residing in the Undercover Aviary.  This aviary had a major renovation earlier in the year, the entire front was replaced and a new, more accessible, entranceway was created making it a much more usable area.  New perches across the front enable the birds to sit and look out into the big pond area and feel less isolated. The Lomax aviary was another one of the major projects carried out in 2024, it needed a completely new roof as the wood had become rotten and holes in the roof netting were letting the resident sparrows steal the food we were putting out.  As well as the joinery skills to replace the beams and roofing, new guttering was installed to drain the water away and prevent future decay.  Two new boxes were created under the covered area that are tailor made to accommodate the ducks and geese in the spring.  New gates were installed to form a partition so that they can be closed when we are busy, and more birds can be accommodated in the same aviary.  Up until now, the aviary has been roughly divided by a row of various boxes which we had to climb over carrying food bowls and water, and we are all getting older so it’s a much better solution! There was also a major repair replacing the end wall of the big pond area which had rotted and with no swans in for the winter, it was an ideal time to do it.  The netting that covers the big pond still needs to be repaired as the holes are also letting the birds in, this year’s trespassers included a blackbird and a wagtail that needed chasing out.  Iain intends to use his skills learnt when he was a fisherman to repair the netting as he would a fishing net. There is a continual to-do list of repair jobs at the centre.  Our maintenance volunteers, Jim and Iain did great work throughout the year completing all the tasks and without them the cost would be significant.  After many years as an invaluable help, Jim has retired from volunteering.  If anybody has any handy skills (joinery, plumbing etc), and has an interest in helping the local wildlife, then please do get in touch. Gill Powell 6th February 2025 Sadly, Bird Flu is on the increase again and we have received a notice from the A.F.R.A. which reads “in response to the increase in cases across England and findings in wild birds, an Avian Protection Zone (AIPZ) with mandatory biosecurity measures is being put in place and will come into force across ALL of England and Scotland from noon on 25th January 2025”.  We are therefore, having to take extra measures to protect the animals and birds in our care.  We are unable to take ANY sick water bird and public access to our premises will be restricted until the AIPZ is lifted.  Please do not handle any sick bird you may find. On a lighter note, as the cold weather has continued the centre remains quiet and more of the hedgehogs have been moved out to sleep in the shed.  The look back at last year continues with notes about two of the admissions that were with us for some time and stood out in our memory. June saw the arrival of a beautiful tawny owlet weighing just 267 grams and a bundle of fluffy feathers.  From the time it arrived it was very sociable and unafraid making it very easy to handle, clean and feed.  It’s not unusual for owlets to be brought in but this one was particularly lovely with beautiful big eyes (as owls do!).  It spent some time in the indoor Longridge aviary and entertained the crowds at our rescheduled Open Day in August.  It sat up close to the front of the aviary watching the goings on, whereas most owls that come in hide in the box at the back and aren’t seen.  Shortly after this, it was moved out to the undercover aviary to get some separation and to encourage a greater wariness of humans.   Once it had developed its flight feathers it was moved into the Long Flight to give it some space to fly.  We were able to observe it developing its flying skills in the evening using the CCTV.  It stayed with us for four months and was released in October whilst it was still mild, ahead of any winter weather. July saw the arrival of a very special animal that fascinated all of us at the Rollo Centre - an albino hoglet.  Albino hedgehogs are extremely rare with reportedly only one in 100,000 being born this way, and therefore, there are probably only about 100 in the wild in the UK.  Albinism is a genetic disorder that affects the production of melanin pigment that determines the colour of eyes, skin and hair, and can happen in any type of animal.  This hedgehog has pink eyes, pink skin, and is a creamy white in colour.  It weighed 159 grams when it arrived, and it took us some time to settle it in and get its diet right.  The eyes of albino animals are sensitive to daylight, and it was quite restless during the day when it was young doing circuits of its cage after it had been disturbed for cage cleaning.  To help it settle, its cage was covered by a towel during the day to lessen the light.  It is currently a good weight and hibernating on and off, it will be with us until the spring.  There is nothing to suggest it will be worse off than its fellow hedgehogs once it is returned to the wild and gets in amongst the soil and leaves, although some need extra warmth over winter so if its location is known, we may bring it back in for some R&R! Gill Powell