Latest News Friends of Wildlife.  Click here to find out more about the Swan Trust Friends of Wildlife scheme.  "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 February 2020 Cleaning and feeding the four swans in the pool enclosure is my favourite part of the Wednesday morning volunteering routine. First, we  scoop up any swan poo on the paving and collect up the previous day’s food buckets for washing and replenishing. Then another  volunteer, Melvyn, arrives to give the paving a thorough hosing down. The clean buckets of cubed bread, grain, mealworms and powder  supplement are filled with water and set out together with the bowl of grit that the birds need for their digestion. While they’re waiting,  the swans usually take advantage of the ‘shower’ and ‘drinking fountain’ - which is actually the pipe we fill the food buckets from. Finally,  their favourite: three lettuces are shredded and thrown onto the pool surface for them to hoover up. I used to worry that the small gang of cheeky sparrows that regularly ‘share’ the  contents of the food buckets were actually trapped in the enclosure never to be free,  but that’s not the case at all. They have their routes, be it under the doors or through  tiny holes in the netting, and seem to come and go as they please. But last Wednesday when Jackie and I went in to begin work, we discovered a much larger uninvited guest  in the enclosure who clearly had no clue how he would make his escape. A sparrowhawk – that presumably had somehow followed his quarry through one of  those secret entrances – was glaring at us from the other end of the enclosure, flying  from end to end when we got too close. While Jackie kept an eye on him, I went indoors to collect a large net and a towel.  We managed to net him quite easily, but he had clamped his talons firmly to the  netting and trying to encourage him to relax his grip proved impossible. Suddenly he  struggled and was flying again; we were trying to keep the stress levels down, both for him and ourselves. By separating and approaching him from two directions, we were able to capture him  again, but this time Jackie picked him up in such a way that he couldn’t grasp the  strings of the net. Once out of the door, she released her hold and he was off over the  rooftops, no doubt to the relief of the little band of sparrows that were collecting round the pool for their stolen breakfast. Elfrieda Waren 6th February 2020 The young swan that I wrote about last week is still making progress. The wounds have almost healed and in another week or so they  will be difficult to see at all. Unfortunately the picture in last weeks paper did not show the actual wound but you can see it on our  website. I did not think it was too nasty to show. We have to deal with this sort of thing all the time. We had a call on Thursday afternoon about a swan that was oiled down by the yacht club on the river Tweed. Before we could go and  check we had a call about a young swan that had been attacked by a dog in the same  location. Two dogs were involved but one was muzzled. Mike went down to check but  the bird was in the water and there was no way they could get to it and it was getting too dark to see much anyway. On Friday morning Jackie and Kay went to see what they could do. Sadly the young  bird was dead. One of its wings was dislocated or broken. The bird was a last years  cygnet and was very brown. We spoke to the person that had reported the oiled bird  and found that it was this bird. At a distance it could have been mistaken for an oiled  bird. Please keep dogs under control around the river. At this time of year there are a  lot of last years young about on their own after being chased away by their parents in preparation for this years nesting. A Buzzard that we had in for an overnight stay after he flew into the side of a lorry  and was concussed soon recovered and was successfully released near to where he  was found. A Barn Owl was brought in after it was found with a suspected broken wing. After an  x-ray at the Vets showed there was no fracture just bruising she was put into the  undercover aviary to recover. She will be moved to the Lomax aviary next week when  she should be able to use the wing fully. We have also had a Heron staying with us. It usually stands in a corner looking miserable. We were saying how hunched up he looked  but they all seem to look the same. Looking for a word to describe the bird Kay came up with the best description. He looked like an  undertaker and he does, a Victorian one. He could not fly and seemed weak when he arrived but a few buckets of fish later and you can  see by this weeks picture he is back to using his wings. He is in the Lomax aviary now but can soon be released. Another happy  outcome. Next time I write I will tell you about a hedgehog we are calling ’Scabby’. Not a very nice name but there is a reason, although the way  she is improving we shall have to revise her name.  Pat Goff 30th January 2020 Last time I wrote I mentioned a young swan that Dick fetched in from Holy Island. A large pond on the island has been fenced off with  eight foot high wire with an overhang on the outside. Natural England has put up the fence to keep otters off the pond although they  actually fenced one inside the wire. On the pond are a family of swans.  Alison, who reported the young swan, told us it had been trying to get to the rest of the family on the pond. The cob is now chasing off  his last years cygnets as they all do at this time of year. The one we have is the biggest of the cygnets and was chased off first. The cob  is now taking on the others. We think this one bird must have flown off the pond, but then  wanted to get back on to the water. Repeatedly pushing his neck through the wire he had  cut the base of his neck pretty badly and was in a bit of a mess when we took him to the  Vets. The Vet stitched the wounds together as well as she could, but when after a couple of  weeks they were removed, the repair had broken down in a couple of places, although it  was healed underneath. We are having to bring him in to bathe the wounds and give  antibiotic each day, but he is quite placid once we have cornered and thrown a towel over  him. Once he is on the table he lets us sort his wounds out quietly. He does not like the  injections as much. In the photograph the wound on one side is visible and it is getting  noticeably smaller. The wound the other side is not quite as big. He is eating and is a strong bird despite his injuries.  He is out on the little pond now so he can see the other birds and once the wounds have  healed he can go on the big pond with them. As long as they like him of course.   Our 60 hedgehogs are all doing well. In this warmer spell some outside hogs that should be well asleep at this time of year have suddenly decided to wake up and have a snack or two,  but if we get a cold snap they should all decide to sleep though it.   We are not having an Open Day until Spring Bank Holiday as everywhere is full of hedgehogs and there is not room to swing a proverbial  cat anywhere at the Rollo Centre. We are, however, having an Easter Raffle with a signed Newcastle United Football as first prize and  Easter Eggs and some beautiful framed cross stitch animal pictures which all us volunteers want to win. Tickets are 50p each and  obtainable from the David Rollo Centre during our open hours.  Pat Goff