It’s so rewarding when a potential disaster story turns into a happy ending and this week has been a particularly satisfying one on the hospital front.
Over the last couple of weeks, the falconers have been taking care of two little owls, which have now been successfully rehabilitated and were released this week. We also a Kestrel come in to the hospital recently, which again was fit enough for release back to the environs from whence it came during the last few days.
In addition, you may well remember our long running saga of the male Marsh Harrier, which began back in August of 2009. The poor bird, despite the very best care and numerous trips to the vet, seemed to have one problem after another. Well, you’ll be glad to learn that, finally, after a whole year of TLC, treatment and recuperation, the Marsh Harrier was finally released back into the wild last week at a suitably marsh-rich habitat offered by stretches of the mid-Essex coastline
A peaceful stretch of habitat just away from the Essex coastline should provide some happy hunting grounds for the fully recuperated Marsh Harrier similar to the one shown in the picture above.
And Positive Vibes
The hospital has actually been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks and on the first of this month a Barn Owl was admitted, which came to the Sanctuary from Woodbridge. A farmer had found the bird on the edge of one of his fields, surrounded by its own feathers. After close inspection, there appeared to be no physical injuries, but the all pervading odour of fox suggested that this Barn Owl had been the victim of a predator attack. The likelihood is that a young fox, probably just playing with the bird, attacked it when it was disturbed by the farmer. This chap will now stay with us and hopefully make a full recovery so that it can be released at a later stage.
Both these birds were brought into us in a pretty dilapidated state but thankfully are now well on the way to full recovery
Another recent patient is a Tawny Owl that came to us in mid-August was sadly a victim of the all too familiar RTA! It had a closed left eye, probably as a result of a bang on the head. A visit to the vets was required where eye-drops were prescribed: they seem to have done the trick as the eye is now open and working, so things are looking good. The bird is currently in one of our rehab aviaries and we look forward to releasing it soon.