Here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, we are proud of our relationship with Avian specialist Vet Elliott Simpson from Aquila Veterinary Services.
He recently came to check some of our long term hospital patients and give us his expert opinion on their long term recovery chances.
This Buzzard came in with a severe head trauma. It had blood in both eyes and was displaying worrying signs that it was blind, with possibly some neuropathy issues aswell. After a quick phone call, Elliott recommended medication and treatment which we could provide quickly. Overnight, the Buzzard improved a bit, and after a few days it was able to see food put out for it and fly to a perch. The blood had mostly cleared from its eyes, so we are hopeful that it will make a full recovery.
Elliott was pleased with its progress, although suggested we continue treatment for an eye ulcer. We’ll never know exactly how this Buzzard got into this state, as it was found in the middle of a field. Our best guesses are that it’s either persecuted and hit with a blunt object, then dumped, or it got into an altercation with another large bird, such as another Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon or a Crow.
Elliott checking the eye of the Buzzard
Applying some drops to help treat the ulcer
This young female Sparrowhawk was brought in after hitting a window. After a couple of days to recover from concussion, she was placed into a larger aviary so we could assess if there was any other damage. She appears to be familiar with mesh and netting (which we use at the top of our aviaries to prevent escape), suggesting that she is already experienced enough to hunt in urban gardens. We were happy with her recovery and decided she would be a good candidate to ring before release. As these are wild birds, we try to minimise contact and handling as much as possible, and during the process of catching her up to ring, it was discovered that she had a mild case of frounce, a bacterial infection which can cause issues in the throat. We delayed her release until this had been treated. Elliott checked her over and removed a few small lumps from her mouth (remains of the infection), revealing healthy tissue underneath. She was given a clean bill of health and will be released soon.
Elliott checking the young Sparrowhawk before giving her a clean bill of health
Back in her aviary and ready to go!
This young Little Owl came in a few weeks ago with no obvious injuries. Upon investigation, the local vets discovered that it had an infection, so it was prescribed some antibiotics. Although it’s been quite lively since arrival, the infection didn’t clear up. It has now had a few weeks in our care and Elliott agreed to try another course of antibiotics to see if it will improve now it’s body condition is a bit better. Unfortunately, the infection resulted in some rather unpleasant mutes which made a mess of its tail, so here’s Jess giving it a bath and towel dry to clean it up a bit.
Can’t Fly, Won’t Fly is a young Kestrel which for some unknown reason, won’t fly! It was found on the ground and assessed for all the usual injuries. After X-rays showed nothing broken or any obvious tissue damage, we thought it just needed a bit of time to recover. It was put in an aviary by itself initially, but Jess then decided to put it in with two other long term Kestrel patients, to give it some competition which might encourage it to fly. So far, we have seen it hopping along the perches but it seems unable to get more than a few inches into the air, which for an aerial predator, is a bit of an issue. Elliott suggested it just needs some more time, so we will continue to care for it with the other two for now.
Finally, it must be said that whilst every bird we receive is given the best possible care, sometimes their injuries are deemed to be too great to ensure a quality of life, and therefore the kindest treatment we can give is to humanely euthanise them to end unnecessary suffering. This is always performed by a veterinarian and is never a decision taken lightly but on every occasion, with great sadness.