Romeo and Juliet

This pair of Kestrels arrived together the day after Valentines Day after being found in an unused holiday cottage - luckily the finders have been popping by to check up on the property, where they were greeted with these two trying to set up their love-nest in one of the bedrooms!

The theory was that they had entered via a chimney in the room, most likely looking for somewhere to start nest building together. Although fairly dehydrated and hungry these two probably didn't have a bad place to weather the cold snap!

It’s very unusual to be brought in an adult pair in such good condition (except the odd scrape) so we hope to get this pair out as soon as possible so they can continue their nest building!

Cowlick the Kestrel

This is Cowlick, a young male Kestrel who was found on the floor in a barn being licked by cows! It’s possible she had been living and hunting around the farm and happened to get a bit waterlogged after the recent rains. He must have found shelter in the barn but the cows just wanted to check he was ok, it seems!

He was also suffering from a foot infection called bumblefoot - this is seen a lot more commonly in captive birds with inadequate perching (usually hard flat surfaces can cause it) It's rare to see this condition in wild birds, which suggests he could have been perching / living in the barn for a while, as they usually have a lot of flat surfaces. Failing that it could simply be an old puncture wound that has become infected. He is currently receiving treatment to ensure he is fit for release in the near future.

Sparrowhawk in a sling

Sometimes, our team need to think outside the box when treating birds that are brought into us at the hospital.

This female Sparrowhawk was found underneath a window in a garden and was unable to stand. She had presumably collided with the window while hunting.

Upon arrival, the team found she had an area of swelling on her spine which was preventing her from standing. She was given medication but the team needed a way to support her body without putting too much weight on her legs while she recovered. They made a little sling for her out of a piece of fabric, cutting holes so her feet could touch the floor and hold her in a natural standing position. This was hung inside one of our small hospital boxes to prevent her from crashing around and making her situation worse.

A makeshift sling helped this Sparrowhawk in the early days of her recovery.

She had to be tweezer fed for the first few days which she took to readily thanks to her strong fighting spirit! That bird wanted to live!

The team assessed her daily and she made good progress so that after a week or so she was transferred into an aviary, where they could monitor her for any long term damage.

After several weeks she was deemed fit and well enough to be released and was returned to where she was found.

Fatal fences

Fences are widely used in the UK to form barriers and mark boundaries. However, did you know that they can also caused issues for wildlife?

In 2020 we had a few cases brought into our Raptor Hospital of Barn Owls having been found caught up in barbed wire fences. Barbed wire is usually used to keep livestock contained in fields, with the sharp metal barbs reminding cattle and sheep that they should stay on their side of the fence. To livestock, the barbs are less likely to cause damage to their thick hides unless the animals are driven into the fence (in the case of panic through being chased).

Barbed wire fences should be kept taut, which means that even a large animal should merely “bounce” off them if they do charge. However, farmers move livestock between fields and some fences may not be regularly checked or maintained. A broken fence post or a lost staple can leave the barbed wire loose. For livestock, this could mean it gets wound up around their legs, and cause damage as they try to escape. However, livestock are checked regularly and any injuries would be dealt with and treated, and hopefully the offending fence fixed.

For wildlife, any injuries are likely to go unnoticed until it’s too late. In the case of birds, they can get tangled in the loose wire, panic and in an attempt to get away cause more damage as the barbs cut their delicate skin. This was the case in all the cases we had last year.

Unfortunately, for most of the owls, they were too badly injured by the time they came in to us and the kindest thing to do was to euthanise them to end their suffering. However, we were fortunate that one did make a full recovery, thanks to the dedication of our specialist vet, so was able to release it a short time back.

There is nothing better than seeing a Barn Owl flying out over a field after release, especially one that was so horrifically injured when it first came in to us.

Fences in urban areas can also cause issues for one of our favourite mammals, the Hedgehog. This species has declined drastically in recent years and last year we wrote how it had been listed as vulnerable to extinction in the UK (https://www.owl-help.org.uk/blog/2020/8/10/hedgehogs-classed-as-vulnerable-to-extinction)

As their name suggests, Hedgehogs are typically associated with hedges, which were traditionally used to mark boundaries and contain livestock. With increased demand for food, and hedges taken up more space and maintenance than fences, massive swathes of them have been ripped out of rural Britain to create larger fields for crops. The loss of hedges has meant suitable habitat and food sources have been depleted for Hedgehogs, as hedgerows support a community of species from plants and insects to mammals and birds.

In towns and cities we have fenced ourselves into our gardens and removed much of the natural surface in preference for easy, low maintenance paving or decking. This not only removes the natural food sources for wildlife (plants which produce nectar and pollen, seeds and fruits) but also places for them to live (insects need vegetation to lay eggs on and soil for their young to pupate and hibernate in).

In addition to this, fences create barriers, and the solid base found on many boundaries restrict movements of animals like Hedgehogs, who struggle to find food, shelter and mates in ever smaller territories.

To raise awareness of this, an organisation called Hedgehog Street was launched and developed a Hedgehog Highway idea, encouraging home owners to cut a small hole in the bottom of their fences to allow Hedgehogs to move around and get access to new gardens. For more information on this, please visit: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/

Photo by WildSouthUK

You can find more information about keeping your garden Hedgehog friendly here:

https://www.owl-help.org.uk/hedgehog-care

We have also joined forces with Suffolk Prickles and hope to be able to offer additional space for their Hedgehog Rescue later this year.

https://suffolkprickles.org/

State of UK Birds Report

Every few years, bird survey data gathered by thousands of volunteers from across the UK are brought together to provide detailed information on our wild bird populations status in the State of UK Birds report. This report was published at the end of 2020 and we thought you might be interested in a summary of how UK birds of prey are doing.

Buzzards are increasing everywhere apart from in Wales. They top the English list of species successes with a 1070% increase between 1995-2018, and come second for Northern Ireland with an increase of 1305% between 1995-2018!

Red Kites top the list of successes in Wales, with the highest increase in population (413% increase between 1995-2018).

Kestrels appeared on the list of declines in Scotland, with the second highest decline (61%) between 1995-2018.

Across Britain Tawny Owl occupancy dropped to 53% from 65% in 2005 (see below for more information on this).

Hobbies have shown a long term population increase of 568%, which could be in part due to climate change*. However, short term declines of 23% in the past 10 years, suggesting they have passed their recent peak in population size.
*Hobbies may have benefited from milder conditions due to climate change in the past few decades, but may now be suffering from other negative effects, such as a decrease in the abundance of larger invertebrate prey.

Around 19 million pairs of breeding birds have been lost since 1960s! While this number will include some birds of prey, the majority of these lost birds will be passerines and waders, which make up a significant proportion of many predatory birds diets.

Here are a few extracts from the report that are relevant to birds of prey specifically:

“Increases in the number of red kites and white-tailed eagles have resulted from targeted action, such as reintroduction projects, habitat creation and land management supported through agri-environment schemes. It is worth noting, however, that despite these recoveries, most of these species remain dependent on ongoing conservation support and are found at levels far lower than before historic population declines.
Increases in both the long and short term are obvious for most of our birds of prey. A release from historic levels of persecution and the impacts of organochloride pesticides has allowed raptors such as ospreys, peregrines and marsh harriers to recover. However, hen harriers remain a notable exception, with a lack of recovery, and indeed a short-term decline, caused by illegal persecution.”

“Project Owl
During 2018 and 2019, the BTO ran Project Owl, a set of interrelated, UK-wide research and engagement projects focused on owls.
Two of the major projects within Project Owl aimed to better understand the population status and calling behaviour of tawny owls. We chose tawny owls as the primary focus for several reasons: they’re widespread in the UK (although absent from Northern Ireland and some islands); they have distinctive calls and so can be identified even by inexperienced volunteers; and, most importantly, they are thought to be undergoing a decline which has been detected in the daytime Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) that required investigation through a bespoke survey.

Declines in occupancy
The Tawny Owl Point Survey was a survey to determine their presence or absence (occupancy) during autumn 2018. This was compared to past surveys in 1989 and 2005 to investigate changes in occupancy over time.
The survey followed a standardised methodology and was coordinated via the volunteers of the BTO Regional Network. The method involved carrying out multiple, 10-minute-long surveys in a set of pre-selected tetrads. Volunteers typically visited their tetrad twice and recorded the presence or absence of tawny owls during two consecutive 10-minute periods on each visit, although there was some flexibility in the visit structure.
Over 2,120 volunteers took part, with 2,900 tetrads surveyed. It is estimated that there was a 51% probability of hearing a tawny owl in any given survey period, assuming they were present. Taking detectability into account, there is evidence of a significant UK-wide decline in tawny owl occupancy, from an estimated occupancy of around 62% in 1989 and 65% in 2005, to 53% in 2018. Analysis is currently ongoing to identify potential causes.

Tawny owl calling behaviour
The other survey carried out was the Tawny Owl Calling Survey, which was coordinated by the Garden BirdWatch (GBW). By allowing participants, many new to monitoring, to select their own sites, this survey proved highly popular. It ran from 30 September 2018 until 30 March 2019, with over 9,000 1-km squares surveyed.
Despite the unstructured nature of the design, the large dataset can be analysed to investigate changes in tawny owl calling behaviour over the winter, during the night and in relation to a range of environmental factors.
Analyses are still underway but patterns of calling behaviour will help design and interpret future surveys. There is evidence that owl presence is influenced positively by certain types of woodland and negatively by artificial light and urbanisation.”

The State of UK Birds 2020 report was jointly published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), together with the UK’s statutory nature conservation bodies.

You can find the full report here:
https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/publications/state-of-uk-birds-2020-report.pdf

Christmas guest in the hack pen

The new hack we built in the autumn has helped some of our hospital birds in their rehabilitation before release into the wild again.

Checking out the new lodgings

Over the Christmas period a new species spent some time in there. A young male Sparrowhawk (also known as a Musket to falconers) was put in the pen to gain fitness after an extended stay with us. He was brought in unable to fly after sustaining feather damage. Birds of prey replace their feathers very slowly, and a young Sparrowhawk won’t replace all of its juvenile feathers until it’s third summer. This means that any damage sustained in it’s first year can have a detrimental effect on it’s survival, as this species relies on it’s feathers being in tip-top condition to be able to hunt.

The grey adult feathers are better quality than the brown juvenile feathers, which can take 3 years to replace.

You may have been lucky enough to see a Sparrowhawk hunting, as they are now a fairly common sight in urban gardens, especially if you have a good population of garden birds regularly visiting your feeders. Sparrowhawks will map out the neighbourhood and know the best routes into the densest populations of small birds, such as House Sparrows, Starlings and Blackbirds. Females are significantly larger than males and can even take full grown Woodpigeons, which weigh about the same as them!

These hawks are capable of catching prey in the air, and their feathers enable them to be highly manoeuvrable in pursuit of their prey. They will also take small rodents and are excellent ambush predators as they use vegetation to get closer to their target.

As a young bird, the Musket will spend a week or so in the hack pen, to introduce it to the release location. The hack pen is designed with small gaps in the structure to allow prey animals such as mice and voles access, which should allow the Musket the opportunity to catch it’s own food. Our falconers will also provide food for it, and once the pen is opened, food will continue to be provided until we are certain the bird is no longer visiting, by using trail cameras.

The Musket will be able to hunt for rodents in a more natural environment before release.

Sooty the Tawny Owl

Some calls to our Raptor Hospital require a falconer to assist with bringing the bird in. We received such a call last week when a couple found a Tawny Owl in a bit of a predicament.

What Jess found when she arrived - Sooty was wedged into the flue with just her tail feathers poking out!

Sooty was found stuck in a flue behind a wood burner after thinking the chimney was a nice place to roost away from the cold. After being gently freed from the flue Sooty was covered in thick soot, so took a trip to us where we swiftly rinsed her off to avoid her ingesting too much more. She had to be cleaned several times to remove the soot from her feathers, but over the course of a few days her true colours started shining through!

It is quite common to find Tawnies in this situation at this time of year as they often use old hollowed out trees to roost in, so a chimney pot can look a very inviting and cosy place to roost! Unfortunately many get stuck and will get over encumbered with soot which can cause them endless issues - from eye irritation through to ingestion which can make them very sick. Even worse, if the chimney is in use smoke inhalation alone can cause their demise but luckily for Sooty the burner had not been used for a few weeks!

The best way to avoid this happening is to install caps on the chimney to stop wildlife getting in!

After a few days in an aviary for observation, to check she hadn’t ingested too much or caused any damage to her feathers, Sooty was ready for release!

Southwold Kestrel Release

Although birds of prey are a common sight around East Anglia, most people are fortunate to never find a sick or injured bird that needs our help. For Amy Falcon, this year has seen her bring in two injured birds to our hospital. The first, a hobby brought in over the summer, was unfortunately put to sleep due to the extent of it’s injuries. However, a few weeks ago we got another call from Amy, who had found a Kestrel on the road at Southwold.

Upon arrival, the adult female Kestrel was checked over by out falconers, who found no obvious injuries or swelling that would be associated with a road traffic collision. They did find a tiny wound on her leg, which was also showing signs of bruising. This suggests that she got in a fight with another bird of prey and came off worse, although was very fortunate to not be hit by a car!

Kestrels are commonly seen perching on posts or trees near roads, where they wait for rodents to make an appearance. Grassy verges are vital for wildlife and have been shown to connect otherwise isolated populations, creating a green network across the UK. However, living so close to fast traffic does come at a cost, as discussed in our blog over the summer:
https://www.owl-help.org.uk/blog/2020/9/7/the-dangers-of-roads

The Kestrel was a bit thin, although not starving, so she was kept in for some aviary rest and to be given a few decent meals of mice, which included some pain relief for her leg. After about a week, she was showing signs that she was ready to be released, so was delivered to Amy, who released her not too far from where she was originally found.

We would like to thank Amy, and all of the other concerned members of the public who call us about sick or injured birds of prey. Without your help these birds would not be provided with the care and medical treatment required to get them fit again for release, ensuring their survival.

Muddy Buzzard

We recently took in a rather bedraggled young Buzzard. It was found stuck in the mud of the River Orwell, having been mobbed by the resident pair of Peregrine Falcons.

When it arrived, the mud had congealed on to most of its tail and wing feathers, so our falconers carefully bathed it in warm water to try and release it. This needed to be repeated a couple of times as the water quickly got very dirty!

Once clean, the bird was checked over before being put in a warm box to dry off. It was discovered to have frounce, a yeast infection which causes pain and swelling to the birds digestive tract. This is easily treated with the right medication, and it was given the appropriate treatment.

The Buzzard is spending some time in our aviaries whilst being treated for frounce, and will be able to build up some weight in preparation for the coming winter before it’s released.

During the 60s and 70s, Peregrine numbers dropped drastically, but they have recovered well and are now found in many new areas, including urban areas such as Norwich and Ipswich. Peregrines are highly specialised aerial predators and can easily tackle prey as large as themselves, such as pigeons and ducks. It is likely that this was a young bird dispersing that drifted into the resident Peregrine territory and was therefore being told to clear off.

UPDATE - We were pleased to receive this video of the Buzzard being released somewhere slightly less muddy by the original finder.

Kestrel Releases

Our new Hack Pen has been well used in recent weeks. The first birds to use it were an adult male and a young female Kestrel, which came in separately but were released together after a few days to get used to the area around the Hack Pen.

We installed trail cams in the area to monitor if they were returning to the Pen to feed, because we continue to put food out for a week or two after release. The footage shows that the young female seems to visit frequently, but the male appears to have left the area.

Interestingly, some of the footage appears to show an older female, which was often seen when the falconers visited the area to put out food. We presume that this is her territory and she is taking advantage of the free food!

Following their successful release, the Hack Pen was in use again, this time with a single female Kestrel. She had been brought to us from a local vets after being found with a broken wing. She was kept in a small box to limit the amount of movement to allow her wing to heal, but she had other ideas! This fiesty bird was an expert at escape and was frequently found sitting on top of the box, despite our best efforts to keep her contained! This showed us that she was a fighter and we were confident that she would be a suitable candidate for release.

After a final vet check, she was placed in the Hack Pen for a few days to give her some space to build up muscle condition again. We opened the Pen last week and were very pleased to see her fly strongly out across the fields and even perform a small hover before disappearing from view.

"Drunk" Buzzard released

With the Sanctuary closed to visitors, our raptor hospital has remained open to care for wild birds of prey that need some help. We recently took in a rather ill Buzzard, which was found on the edge of a field.

The Buzzard was showing little signs of life when it was found in a field.

Upon arrival, we couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with it, but it clearly wasn’t very well, so we put it in a small aviary and kept it in for observations. After about 36 hours, it appeared to be coming round, but was very unsteady and unable to focus on anything. The following day, a fresh faced Buzzard was looking out of the aviary and eating everything we gave it.

Having spoken to others who work in wildlife rescue, we think this Buzzard may have been feasting on prey that had been feeding at a nearby grain silo, where fermenting grain has been known to influence the behaviour of those animals which decide to eat it, and causing them to become drunk.

This is not a new phenomenon - every year during late autumn stories emerge of deer and rodents which have been over indulging on fermenting fruit and found themselves in compromising situations, but we have not found any stories relating to predatory species, such as birds of prey, which would have to eat a large amount of “drunk” prey to feel the effects.

We were very pleased with this Buzzard’s progress and after a few days, the original finders came to collect her and released her near where she’d been found. Hopefully she learnt her lesson and will stay away from the fermenting grain silos in future!

Nocturnal Release

A final check before being transported to the release site.

A few weeks ago we wrote about a young Tawny Owl who had been brought in after a suspected collision with a vehicle.

After some time in our aviaries to recover, we determined this was actually a second year bird as it had started to moult it’s primary feathers, and probably a male based on its size. He was rather distinctive as his plumage was more ginger in colour than the usual brown.

Compared to some of our recent hospital admissions, this boy was a perfect patient and took his food and medication without the need for intervention.

He made good progress and we were delighted to release him into woodland last week, under an almost full moon!

Ready for release. We switched our headtorches to a red light after this photo was taken to allow his eyes time to adjust to the darkness, before he flew off into the moonlight.

When choosing release sites, we have to consider the availability of suitable habitat and food, as well as any dangers to owls, such as roads or an already high population of predators.
Although Tawny Owls are predominantly a woodland bird, they do often hunt over open ground, especially if there are tussocks of vegetation for small rodents to hide in. On the walk in, we heard many small scurries in the undergrowth alongside the track, so are confident that this area will have a plentiful supply of rodents for our Tawny to hunt as winter approaches.

First guests in the new Hack pen

With the installation of our new Hack Pen, we decided that the first candidates for release would be two Kestrels that we’ve had in over the summer.

The young female on the left, with the male on the right. Settling into their new lodgings.

The male has been with us since June, when he was found by Anglian Water in an outdoor sewage processing pit. After a thorough clean he was put into one of our hospital aviaries to recuperate. The incident had left him with a severely damaged tail (possibly from being in the sewage), so it was important to give him a safe place to regrow his tail feathers, which are used to maintain balance when hunting.

The young female was brought in to us after being found grounded after wet weather. She also had a damaged tail, so was placed in an aviary to recuperate and regrow some of her feathers.

These two kestrels were deemed fit for release shortly before the hack pen was built, so were the ideal birds to move in and try out the facilities. Our falconers visited every couple of days to supply them with food, although the pen is designed to allow wild rodents access, so we hope that they were also able to practice their hunting skills.

The main purpose is to allow the birds to build fitness, so the pen is designed with the feed tray low to the ground, encouraging the birds to fly down, grab food then carry it up to a perch. The vertical slats give privacy while allowing the birds to observe their surroundings outside the pen. On a number of occasions a wild female kestrel was seen in the vicinity of the pen (including sitting on the roof!), so we suspect the male has been calling to her and she was curious about the newcomers to her territory.

We have now opened the door to the pen, allowing these birds to come and go as they please. The pen will remain open and we will continue to put food out for the birds until we are confident they have become independent. A trail cam has been installed to help us monitor any movements, and we will post a further update in due course.

Sore head for a young owl

This young tawny was handed over to us from Stowe vets after being found roadside - an examination saw that is was suffering a retinal bleed which usually indicates head trauma by car strike (the eyes often being the main injury point with RTA’s). Luckily the damage did not seem too extensive however he was also suffering with serious dehydration and emaciation. Since arriving and after a careful care plan of fluids and easily digestible food he is starting to look a lot stronger. Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery.

After a few days of special care.

New Hack Pen

We are pleased to reveal the completion of a new Hack Pen at a secret location.

As part of our work rehabilitating rescued raptors, having suitable facilities to give these birds the best possible chance of survival once released is crucial. A Hack Pen allows us to do a soft release of birds which are deemed fit and well enough to be released.

This is essentially an aviary located in a secluded spot, away from human disturbance, which allows the rescued birds to get used to being in the wild environment while still being protected from the elements and having food provided for them. After a week to two of getting used to this, the door will be opened and the birds will be free to come and go as they please. We will continue to put food out for as long as is deemed necessary, and will monitor what goes on via trail cams.

We would like to collectively thank every person who has donated to our Raptor Hospital, as your donations have made this possible. Special thanks must go to our Falconer Jess and her partner Gav, who built the hack pen over the weekend in the rain! We already have some birds lined up to use this over the coming months, so please keep checking back to see updates.

Winter is coming

Winter is coming…

With winter just around the corner, we’ve seen a number of younger birds brought into our Raptor Hospital suffering from starvation and dehydration. This is nature’s way of determining the “survival of the fittest” and making sure that only healthy birds survive to breed and pass on their genes to the next generation.

In the wild, birds will often overcompensate for this and lay more eggs than would be required to replace the parents. Tawny owls can lay up to three eggs, buzzards four, kestrels up to six eggs per clutch and barn owls can lay up to eleven eggs and have been known to have two broods a year. Birds of prey will start incubating the first egg as soon as it’s laid, which means that the chicks don’t all hatch at the same time (known as asynchronous hatching), and in larger clutches can mean a week or more between the first and last hatched chicks.

This obviously gives the first chicks to hatch a massive head start, so by the time the youngest chick has hatched, it is often at the bottom of the pile for food from the parents and means that the younger chicks often die of starvation. In some species, such as eagles, obligate siblicide occurs, where the larger, stronger chick kills and eats its smaller siblings in years when food is scarce. 

In wild barn owls, only 40% survive to see their first birthday, whereas in kestrels this is only 29%, so it is unsurprising that we’ve had so many intakes in the past month. However, if they do survive their first year, they stand a good chance of living to a good age, according to their species - the average for barn owls is 4 years although they have been known to live for up to 16 years in the wild.

For our native birds of prey, most youngsters have been out looking after themselves for a few months now, hopefully gaining experience hunting for prey and learning where to find shelter when we have had bad weather. But with bad weather days being more frequent as winter approaches, some are clearly struggling to find enough food. 

Young bird feathers are not as waterproof as adult feathers, so constant rain can be a killer as the birds struggle to hunt in rain. As the juvenile plumage gets wet in the process, the feathers can’t dry before the birds have to try hunting again.  We’ve also had strong winds, which can blow birds into buildings, trees or vehicles if caught unawares, and can lead to damaged feathers or broken bones.

Whilst we do everything we can for all the birds that are brought into the hospital, some come in so weak that they are unable to eat by themselves. We can intervene and tube feed to get essential nutrients into them, but regrettably this sometimes comes too late and a number may die if we are unable to nourish them in time.

Illegal trapping in Suffolk

We recently took in an injured Barn Owl, which was found struggling to stand. Upon investigation it was rushed to our vets who took X-Rays and confirmed that both femurs (upper leg bone) had been shattered. This is almost certainly the result of being caught in a Fenn or Pole trap, which have been illegal since 1904.

X ray showing the shattered upper legs of a Barn Owl.

Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to save this owl so it was euthanised to end it’s suffering. However, the story doesn’t end there. Over the years we have worked closely with the local wildlife crime officers on similar cases, so the owl was sent to them for an official post mortem. We shared with them the location the owl was found, and they did a sweep of the local farm and estate. Although nothing was found, they are hopeful that news will spread amongst the community that it was investigated and that the perpetrator will be dissuaded from putting traps out again.

Though it is upsetting to deal with illegally trapped animals, this case is doubly so as this barn owl was unlikely to have been the intended catch. Pole traps are more commonly used to catch Sparrowhawks and Buzzards, which do occasionally hunt poultry and game birds. The nature of these traps leads to the indiscriminate maiming and killing of countless wild birds around the UK every year, despite the laws against them, but they can also be a threat to mammals.

Illegally persecuted wildlife is often found dumped on roadsides, as the culprits try to “hide” the evidence on our increasingly busy roads (see previous blog). Raptors, badgers and foxes are the most commonly found, and injuries sustained through hunting, trapping or baiting can be disguised by a few knocks from vehicles. There are a few dedicated groups around the UK who collect roadkill and investigate whether it is dead from a genuine accident or not.

If you see anything suspicious in the countryside, please call 101 and report it to the police.

For more information about Operation Owl, please visit:
https://www.operationowl.com/

Wind Power

We are all aware of the climate emergency we face, and one way to limit our impact is to switch to renewable energy sources, such as solar, hydro, tidal and wind. While this relatively new technology is a vast improvement on the oil, gas and coal power stations, in terms of the environmental impact, what is less well known is the impact this has on the living landscapes that these technologies are being installed in.

In East Anglia, we have a few wind farms and individual turbines dotted around the countryside, with several offshore farms around our coast. There have been reports from conservation organisations over the decades warning of the dangers to wildlife that these turbines pose, either from collisions with the blades themselves (which at the tip can be travelling at over 120mph), or through the base (sound created by the rotors has been shown to disrupt cetacean migrations and possibly contribute towards strandings).

Whilst wind turbines do account for a number of bird fatalities, this is insignificant when compared to fatalities caused by other human activities (such as collisions with windows, power lines, introduction of invasive species and hunting from feral cats). However, in areas with high concentrations of raptors, or on key migration routes, conservation organisations are voicing concerns over increasing numbers of wind farsm as the number of raptors being killed is significant.
https://www.cse.org.uk/downloads/reports-and-publications/planning/renewables/common_concerns_about_wind_power.pdf

In Spain vultures and eagles, which are significantly larger than most raptors, are still at risk of collision with wind turbines and being larger they can survive if found quickly. The Vulture Conservation Foundation in Europe and VulPro in Africa work with local rescues to rescue and rehabilitate these birds. Unfortunately, some of the injuries are severe, and loss of wings is the most common, which makes them unsuitable for release. However, vultures in captivity can live without a wing quite happily, so these birds are used as part of a captive breeding population, with their offspring being released back into the wild when ready.
https://www.4vultures.org/
https://vulpro.com/

However, a recent study published this year suggests there is a simple way to greatly reduce the number of fatal collisions with wind turbines. The study was carried out in Norway, and involved painting one blade of the turbines black. Over the course of the study, trained sniffer dogs were used to search the area around the turbines to find dead birds. A control area (with no painted blades) was also searched. They found a 70% reduction in the number of dead birds found in the area with painted blades.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6592?fbclid=IwAR32Q9UAGGp5-mbo167gIdEr0Dn3j1FaxpjvgN8uNn7e6p59Hh0lQYvTGmM

This is exciting news and could have positive implications around the world, although the authors of the paper are keen to stress that this study was conducted at one site, and more trials would be needed before they formally recommend this to engineers. Whilst more trials are potentially costly when using established wind farms (as it’s difficult to paint the blades when they are in operation), in the future this cost would be significantly reduced if the paiting is done at the factory stage.

Virtual Sessions launching Oct 2020

2020 has been a difficult year for many, especially those working with children and young people across the region, Here at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary we continue to offer educational visits for groups, but understand that in these times, it may be impractical to organise a visit to our Sanctuary, or to have visitors come to you.

Following discussions with other Education Officers from collections around the world, we are pleased to be launching Virtual Sessions from October 2020. These will be live sessions for schools and groups, delivered via a secure Zoom link, on a range of topics linked to the national curriculum. The list below is the sessions we have prepared so far, but we are open to suggestions so please let us know if there is something else you would like us to cover:

Food chains and webs
British habitats
Nocturnal Animals
Raptor Conservation
All About Owls
Animal Storytime
Owl Pellet Detectives, either as a demo or as a practical. Owl pellets are priced at £3 each and should be ordered from our website 2 weeks before the session date: https://www.owl-help.org.uk/pellet-detectives

Owl Pellet Detectives is already a popular session. Photo by L. Mundford.

These sessions will be priced at £35. Each session will last up to 1 hour (practical Owl Pellet Detectives, may run a bit longer if required) and will include different activities relating to raptors and time for questions at the end. We can provide worksheets for these sessions, which will be made available from our website to download.

Sessions are available Mon-Fri 10-4, but if you would like to arrange a session outwith these times, please do get in touch with our Education Officer, Susan, to discuss.
( susan@owlbarn.co.uk )

The dangers of roads

Over recent months, we have received a number of casualties into the hospital which are suspected of being involved in Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs).

This Barn Owl was found on the side of a road. She arrived last week with no obvious signs of injury, but will be kept in for monitoring. Otherwise, she was in good condition, so we think she was just unlucky in choosing her hunting grounds the day she was brought in.

This Barn Owl arrived after a suspected RTA. The staining on her feathers is from her nares (or nostrils), and is similar to a nosebleed so not thought to be serious.

We also have a Buzzard in the hospital which arrived with obvious head trauma, again, after a suspected collision with a vehicle. After some monitoring in an aviary, our vet determined it may have a condition known as uveitis, which can cause pain in the eye. This can usually be treated successfully, and we are hopeful that both our current Road Rescues will make full recoveries and be released into the wild soon.

This Buzzard was brought in with head injuries and is being monitored in our aviaries.

Britain has enough roads to wrap around the Earth 10 times (247,000 miles!). A recent report shows that over 70% of Britain falls within 700m of a road, causing impacts such as noise, light and chemical pollution, as well as the more obvious risk of collisions.
(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16899-x)

Some wildlife appears to have adapted to live life in the fast lane, especially scavengers such as Red Kites, Crows and Foxes, who will treat busy roads almost like a buffet, feasting on those unable to get out of the way quickly enough. These animals are known to be intelligent and adaptable, and there have been reports that in social species one individual will warn others of oncoming traffic so they can get out of the way.

Others have struggled to adapt. Hedgehogs were recently reclassified as Vulnerable to Extinction due to their population decline, and one of the main reasons for this is RTAs, with roads cutting up the landscape, making it hard for hedgehogs to move around. Hedgehogs main defence is to roll up in a ball, which unfortunately does not stand up against cars and lorries. They can also struggle with kerbs, so having crossed the road safely, they may be unable to escape the other side into the safety of the verge or hedge.

For land based animals, one way to help is to create wildlife bridges over or tunnels under roads. This is mostly done in America and continenal Europe, although in Scotland, some roads have rope bridges across to help Red Squirrels move around, and every year hundreds of volunteers will help amphibians around the UK to cross roads between their hibernation sites and their breeding ponds. National Geographic have covered this several times, with the most recent article on this topic here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/04/wildlife-overpasses-underpasses-make-animals-people-safer/

Roadside raptors are a familiar sight in East Anglia, but they have mixed fortunes living close to roads. Road verges are a perfect place for small rodents to live, as they are relatively protected from predators due to the traffic. This makes them ideal places for raptors to hunt, and Kestrels are commonly seen perched on poles or hovering alongside roads waiting for a mouse to emerge. While Kestrels are mobile enough to get out of the way, other birds, such as Barn Owls can get caught up in the slipstream of passing vehicles and thrown into oncoming traffic.

An unfortunate Barn Owl, killed on the road. Photo by Mike Toms.

Project Splatter is a citizen science project based at Cardiff University which records roadkill around the UK. Their figures for 2019 show that 285 Birds of Prey were recorded around the UK, with 36 in East Anglia. Of these 43 were Barn Owls nationwide, with 8 found in East Anglia. Interestingly, they also revealed that the figures up to July 2020 show that 60 Barn Owls have been recorded around the UK this year, out of 143 Birds of Prey in total. This could be for a number of reasons, and they are currently working on a report looking at the impact of Lockdown on roadkill.

For more information about Project Splatter, please visit:
https://projectsplatter.co.uk/
You can report your roadkill sightings via the website or their social media channels.