Wild about Fridays 4/12/20


It snowed today! Did you see it? Quite cheerfully it timed its arrival to the backdrop of Shakin’ Stevens singing “snow is falling, all-around” on my car radio which rather added to the ambience!
As exciting and beautiful as snow is, it is a stark reminder of how our wildlife will struggle through the winter. Hopefully, most hibernating creatures will be tucked up somewhere dry and safe as this colder spell sets in. Birds, mice, voles and foxes are all still about though.
The rats of my village appear to have all moved into my garden and are tunnelling away underneath my chicken run making it look like a training ground for a wartime escape drama! Every morning they seem to have 5 new tunnels exiting into the run! I’m not up for poisoning them, so am currently trying a hopeful technique of removing the food containers overnight so there is no food source to temp ratty in. Unfortunately, this relies on my remembering by dusk, so it isn’t going brilliantly as yet....
The garden has been full of blackbirds this week, they have been really enjoying the holly berries which have reduced levels of toxicity after the first frost apparently, and even though they are quite a territorial bird, several of them are out there at the same time. They managed to knock off one of the bird feeders which was filled with fat balls and they had a terrific time munching them up from the ground, so much easier for them!
The other bird feeders have been covered in blue tits and great tits, but no sign of the sparrows this week. The fat balls are being consumed at a staggering rate, this will surely only increase more as the colder weather sets in. It is so important to keep them filled up with fat-rich foods, suet products, sunflower hearts and peanuts as the birds use up so much of their calorie intake just keeping warm. If you want to make your own high-fat bird feed, there is a recipe and instructions to make homemade fir cone bird feeders on our website which is a fun activity to do for yourself or with kids, also makes a lovely little present for family or neighbours, but remember to keep them cold!
I recently discovered that one of the important things about a birdbath is that the birds use it to regulate the oil in their feathers which helps them to control their temperature! There was me thinking it was just for cleanliness! It will, of course, be a huge bonus for the birds through the winter to be able to access water for drinking as well, so let’s try and remember to get rid of the ice each morning. Hopefully, I will do better at that than remembering to bring my chickens feeders indoors at dusk!
Great swathes of geese frequently fly over in ‘V’ formation all honking away, such a beautiful sight. The crows are also back in the garden after several weeks away. About twenty of them gather in the tops of the trees, watching and cawing. There is something otherworldly about crows...I can’t quite put my finger on what it is about them, but they seem to have such a presence. They do a great job of clearing up the roadkill, unpleasant, but better than it being left.

Happy ending for Bear

Bear lived unhappily in a multi cat household and spent a lot of her time at UEA. One morning in late June she was clipped by a car . A lovely lady took her to Eaton Vets where it was discovered she had smashed her top and bottom jaw and broken a few teeth.

Unfortunately the previous owner was unable to pay for her care and we stepped in. She had surgery to repair her injuries and stayed at the vets to recover. Bear was then moved to one of our fosterers and stayed there to recuperate. She was well enough to be adopted in early August.

She now lives as an only cat in the countryside far away from busy roads. She is an absolute love bug and makes her new owner laugh every day. She’s brightened up their lives. She loves sitting on the side of the bath waiting for her owner to finish. Recently she’s taken to stealing all the candles in the house together with earrings!

I just love writing these happy stories Bear is one lucky kitty xx

 

 

Make an autumn hedgehog!

Things to gather together:-

Some cardboard (old cereal box)

PVA glue

Some leaves from the park or garden

(If you can’t get out to collect them, cut out leaf shapes from brown paper envelopes)

 

  1. Go into the garden, to the park, or anywhere that you can see some trees. Gather up some handfuls of leaves, trying to pick out the ones that are whole and not damaged.  Look under different trees and see if you can find different shapes and colours. Take them home and spread them out on an old cloth to dry out in the sun.
  2. Draw a hedgehog shape on the cardboard, the nose is a triangle and the body a big oval. Add some legs!
  3. Cut around your drawing so you have the shape of a hedgehog. If you wanted to you could paint or colour his face and feet brown. I didn’t because I liked the brown of the cardboard I used.
  4. When your leaves are dry, glue them one by one and cover your hedgehog with them. If you start at his bottom and work towards his head the leaves lay over each other like spikey spines! When you are happy with it, put a weight on it to stop the leaves curling up as they dry. I used a box with some tins in it.
  5. Leave it to dry (takes HOURS) but you do need to wait. Then you can give your hedgehog a nose and an eye! I’ve used small black buttons, you could colour them or use a bit of black felt.  Then paint glue really carefully all over the leaves, I was a bit worried here as they went all white, but when the glue dries it makes the leaves super shiny and less breakable.

There are lots of things you can do with your hedgehog, stick him on a card to give to someone for their birthday, or send to a grandparent, or stick on your bedroom wall (that’s where mine is going).  You could make a whole family of them!

Find some lovely leaves. What colour is your favorite?
Find some lovely leaves. What colour is your favorite?
Draw a hedgehog shape on a piece of cardboard
Draw a hedgehog shape on a piece of cardboard
Cut the shape out but be careful!
Cut the shape out but be careful!
Glue the leaves on to your hedgehog but leave the face clear
Glue the leaves on to your hedgehog but leave the face clear
Draw a face on your hedgehog and he or she is ready for whatever adventure you have planned!
Draw a face on your hedgehog and he or she is ready for whatever adventure you have planned!

Baby birds – general

The first thing with any injured or young creature is to access the need: does this animal/bird need to be helped in the first place? If there is an injury or if the animal has been attacked it needs help! A bird that has been attacked by a cat for example might not have visible injuries but it most probably still needs help. All it takes is one scratch or small puncture wound and the infection will most likely kill it.
If the baby bird is sitting out in the open, not moving, not being tended by parents, laying flat or appear lethargic, or if it's being pestered by corvids and/or flies: Secure it and phone a rescue!

Is it fully feathered sitting in a fairly hidden place? If so, leave it and watch from afar.
Do the parents tend to it? If so it is probably ok. It is normal for fledglings to spend some time outside of the nest even though they are not quite ready to do their own thing yet. If you are worried, again, observe from afar!

If it's not feathered or is only partially feathered: Are the eyes still shut? Is it on the ground?
This is not right. Secure the bird and call a rescue.

As a predator, we are the slowest that any animal will meet, so if this creature can not escape our efforts to catch it then how is it going to be able to escape a hungry and fast predators like a fox, dog, or cat?

Does this animal/ bird move like a healthy happy animal or bird, does it look old enough to be out on its own? Does it have a full coat of feather?

Treat it like you wound anything newborn, get in a safe place, place soft and dry bedding in the container.
Pick it up carefully, is it cold to the touch? If it is cold to the touch get it warmed up, give it a hot water bottle, heat mat, or just an empty jam jar with hot water in it. Put the source of heat NEXT to the bird, not under, and give it enough space to move away from it if it gets too hot. Make sure it's not so hot that it will burn the bird.

Bring the creature indoors in a quiet area. If you wouldn’t do it to a newborn human baby, don’t do it to a tiny bird or injured hedgehog! Don't force it to drink water - baby birds get their water through the food it's given.

The only difference between a wild animal baby and a human one is you NEVER cuddle wildlife!
Wild animals stress if you stroke fuss or even talk to them! Keep the handling to an absolute minimum and keep it somewhere quiet and warm till you get it to a rescue.

Last but not least: Leaving it outside to fend for itself or "let nature take its course", well, it wouldn’t cross your mind if it was human so don't do it to them?
Does this creature look injured, are there any open wounds? Yes, it needs help! Flies lay eggs that hatch into maggots, these maggots cause pain and suffering! A fly will lay eggs on any animal/bird which is unwell laying or sitting out in the open! There does not need to be a wound. Being eaten alive by maggots is nothing we believe that any creature deserves; wild or not.

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Found a baby bird? PLEASE READ THIS
Found a baby bird? PLEASE READ THIS

Hedgehog

What do I do if I see a hedgehog and how do I know if it needs help?

Hedgehogs are nocturnal and would very rarely venture out during the day unless it was in trouble somehow.

There are exceptions to this rule.

* Is the hedgehog obviously going somewhere? What we mean by this is that if you spot a hedgehog running along the fence line daytime it might just have been disturbed and should not be picked up.

* Is the hedgehog carrying grass, leaves or similar it is probably just out gathering nesting material and should be left alone.

* With daytime, we do NOT mean dusk or dawn. If your garden is shaded or the weather is overcast please take this into account.

* If the hedgehog is out in full sunlight, is found sunbathing or sleeping in the open, staggering, dragging its legs, screaming, or collapsed they should ALWAYS be brought to the nearest rescue.

* If you find a hedgehog trapped somehow, even if you manage to get it untrapped, it should ALWAYS be brought to a rescue. There might be internal damage that needs to be seen by a professional.

* If there is an obvious injury to the hedgehog it should ALWAYS be brought to a rescue.

Step one is to put the hedgehog in something secure. Remember that hedgehogs are great climbers so something with a lid is best. Unless you are taking it directly to a rescue place try to make sure it has enough room to move around. We have had adult hedgehogs brought to us in very small shoeboxes, something that is not ideal. Make sure that the box is covered so flies can’t get to it. Make sure there are air holes.

Step two is to give it a heat source of some sort. If you don’t have a hot water bottle, a jam jar or a rinks bottle half-filled with hot water and wrapped in a towel will do just fine. Just make sure that it is watertight! Make sure that the hedgehog can move away from the heat source if he/she gets too hot. IF THE HEDGEHOG HAS FLY EGGS ON IT PLEASE DO NOT GIVE IT A SOURCE OF HEAT. Here are two examples of flystrike so you know what to look for.

Step three is to contact your nearest rescue. Please don’t wait before doing this and don’t assume that you can take care of it yourself. As much as there might not be visible injuries to the hedgehog there are so many things that could be wrong and by waiting you might risk the animal's life.

If you want to you can give it some cat or dog food on a plate and some water in a non-tip water bowl.

NEVER feed hedgehogs milk or bread.

In late autumn and winter, any hedgehog smaller than a grapefruit should be brought to a rescue as they will too small to hibernate. If you are not sure about the size, weigh it. Less than 500 grams and it should be brought to a rescue. When in doubt, call and ask!

Pigeon

What do I do if I find a pigeon or a dove and how do I know if it needs help?

Some people would argue that pigeons are just vermin but this could not be further away from the truth if you ask us. These beautiful birds can live up to 20 years and if you look closely their feathers shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow. Sadly most of them will only live a few years in the wild but just like any other animals or birds, we think that they are worth saving. Pigeons and doves are different from most other birds as they breed all year round. Therefore it is not unlikely that you find a little baby even early in the year.
Obviously not every pigeon or dove you see needs our intervention so how do you know when to interfere?
If the bird has an obvious injury ALWAYS secure the bird and contact your closest rescue center.
If the baby is on the ground and it is in danger (for example if it is on the road or your cat/dog is showing it too much attention) secure it and contact your closest rescue center.

A hatchling ( between 0 – 4 weeks old) will not survive on the ground. It will have a small amount of down and will not be able to get away from any predators. It will also suffer from the cold.
Even after they fledge they can look very vulnerable but please be careful so that you don’t interfere where it is not needed. If you see a baby that you think is in trouble start by staying back and observe. Are the parents around (Make sure that you don’t stand too close as they will stay away)?
Is the baby bird sitting in a tree? If the answer is yes on either of these two questions please leave it as it should be alright.
If the baby is on the ground and the parents are nowhere to be seen then catch it. Once it is caught secure it in a box big enough for it to move but make sure that it is covered. Place it somewhere quiet and warm and call a rescue center.

Do not EVER try to force it to drink water, if anything just offer it some water in a shallow bowl.
We cannot stress this enough as we have had babies brought to us that died after being force-fed water through a syringe, had their head put under a running tap (no joke...), or head pushed into a bowl of water.

Deer

Deer are protective of their young (like most parents would be).
However, unlike most parents, they will find a quiet and dark place they consider safe to then leave their baby for long periods of time. This will allow the baby to get much-needed rest and time to grow big and strong.

If you see a baby deer please DO NOT disturb it and as much as we might feel like a baby on their own must be in danger it most probably is not.

Step one is to move away. If you spook it you might put it in danger. Do not touch it. If you believe it might have been abandoned watch it from a long distance. If it looks dirty or injured, laying out flat, or is laying out in the open contact a rescue center directly. Unless the rescue center tells you differently stay back and do NOT approach, try to ensure nothing hurts it or that it stumbles away.

If you have to pick the deer up please remember that you are terrifying to the little creature. Stroking or cuddling it will just scare it more.
Instead, cover its face (make sure that it can breathe) and get it somewhere safe and quiet.
ONLY DO THIS IF YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD TO OR IF IT POSES A DANGER (for example, if it is in the middle of the road).

As always please remember that wildlife rescue is best left to people with experience so always contact a local rescue for help.

Muntjac breeds roughly every 7 months so you might come across a fawn any time of the year, unlike our native deer who give birth between May and July.

SAME RESCUE RULES APPLY TO ANY DEER.

If you found an injured deer of any age - STAY BACK, CALL FOR HELP, ONLY APPROACH IF THERE IS A DANGER TO LIFE.

A flower for every month

Why not plant a "Bee restaurant" with one flowering plant for every month of the year!
If you don't have a border available for something like this, why not get 12 biggish plant pots?
Here are some ideas. The plants suitable for pots are marked with a P before the name, (P) means that you can put certain varieties in a pot but some will do better than others. Any perennials will do better in bigger pots as their roots will take up more space than an annual:

January
P Winter honeysuckle – Need to be fed and watered to survive in a pot. This is a climber that can reach up to 2.5 meters in height so provide it with a climbing frame. Will flower till spring. As a bonus, it produces berries in the autumn.

P Wild deadnettle -  The dead in the name refers to its lack of sting. Will flower from the end of January all the way till November.

(P) Mahonia – This evergreen shrub also produces berries

February
P Helleborus – This little beauty often is evergreen and loves a shady, not too windy spot in your garden.

P Crocus – Someone described this as a perfect plant for the “keen but clueless” as it is a VERY easy little bulb to grow.

P Snowdrops – Beautiful little perennial with small white flower.

March
P Ajuga genevensis – Flowers till mid-May. This plant is actually best to plant in pots as it spreads fast.

P Pulmonaria – Can sometimes start flowering as early as February and will keep going to April.

P Primula – Very hardy little beauty.

April
P Chives - Will flower in April/May. Herbaceous perennial plant.

P Cornflower – Will flower late April all the way to late summer.

P Lotus cornicalatus – Flowers till mid September

May
Achillea – Flowers till August

Cow parsley – Will flower till July

Calendula – Will flower till mid-summer.

June
P Borage - Will flower till September. In mild weather, it will continue to flower most of the year. Self-seeding annual.

(P) Lavender - Will flower from late spring.

P Snapdragons – Will flower till September

July
P Hyssop - Will flower sometimes as early as June all the way through to early autumn.

(P) Buddleja – Amazing shrub with beautiful flowers and a scent to die for. Requires a very big pot.

P Blue sea holly – Will flower till September

August
P Anemone – Will flower till late October

P Cosmos - If winter is very harsh, wrap the pot in something to protect the roots from the worst frost.

(P) Hollyhock – The dwarf veraities will survive in a pot. The larger ones will struggle if the pot is not big enough. Also, remember that the big varieties will grow up to 6ft tall.

September
P Ivy – Ivy is one of my all-time favorite plants. It comes in all shades of green and is a fantastic plant for wildlife, both for nectar and nesting depending on size. It does take a few year before the Ivy produces flowers.

P Salvia – As with all herbs having them in your garden will provide both you and pollinators with food 😀

P Ice plant – Will do best in full sun and does not like to stay damp for long periods.

October
(P) Abelia – This is another evergreen plant that will produce both flowers and berries. As most shrubs, it will do best if you give it some space so a very small post is not recommended.

P Rudbeckia – Prefers to have some room so don’t overcrowed and this plant will do well in a pot. Make sure it is fast draining.

Crocus speciosus – This will keep flowering sometime as early as September all the way to November.

November
P Wallflower – Will flower throughout the year and is ever so easy to care for.

P Sarcococca hookeriana – Will flower all the way to March and then produce berries. Highly fragrant flowers.

(P) Viburnum tintus – You will need to plant two of these to get it to produce berries but if you do remember that the berries are bad for humans. Birds however love them! Will need a big pot.

December
P Winter aconite – Will do well in a pot.

P Common Gorse – Will provide nectar all through the year. As most shrubs it will need a bigger pot.

(P) Winter flowering cherry – Since this is a tree it will need a substantial pot to be able to survive.

Balance of nature

Why is a hedgehog worth saving?
Why is what we do as rescuers important?
Is it better to let nature do its thing instead of interfering?

These are all questions we have been asked and it is so easy to get lost in the anger of the question instead of actually providing an answer. For me and most of us on this page, it might be obvious that a hedgehog has the same right to not suffer like the rest of us but too often I hear “it’s just one hedgehog”.
Just one.
But one by one they disappear.
And nature very rarely makes mistakes: Hedgehogs are here because they are needed.

Nature is based on balance and it is a beautiful thing when it works.
Everything fits and has a purpose. One species needs another for its survival and when one piece disappears the balance is broken and often the result is devastating.

So my answers are:
Yes, of course, a hedgehog is worth saving, even if it’s just one because it all adds up because when it comes to the balance of nature it is beautiful but fragile.
Yes, what we and other rescuers do is important because without us: who would do it? In a world where everything seems to be based on a monetary value a tiny hedgehog might not be worth saving but for the sake of our future they are all priceless.
And no, it is not better to let nature do its thing. Not when you can make it better.
For me, if you see suffering you have the duty to try to do something about it. And they are all worth saving.