Admissions and Releases

In July we admitted 527 casualties and 401 in August.  July releases totalled 128, with 180 being released in August.

JULY TOP TEN ADMISSIONS Hedgehog 134  Mallard 51 Wood Pigeon  34 Blackbird 25 Swift 23 Collared Dove 19  Mute Swan 19 House Martin 14 Common Seal 13  Pipistrelle Bat  11	AUG TOP TEN ADMISSIONS Hedgehog 80 Wood Pigeon 65 Collared Dove 32 Mallard 26 Rabbit 24 Common Seal  21 Mute Swan 21 House Martin 12 Wood Mouse  8 Greenfinch  7
JULY TOP TEN RELEASES Mallard 67 Hedgehog  14 Swift  9 Blue Tit  6 Collared Dove 5 Robin  5 Mute Swan 5 House Martin 5 Wood Pigeon  4 House Sparrow 4	AUG TOP TEN RELEASES Blackbird 28 Hedgehog 20 Wood Pigeon  13 Lesser Black Backed Gul 9 Collared Dove 9 Starling 8 House Sparrow 7 Tufted Duck 5 Kestrel   5 Jackdaw 5

                       

Phocine Distemper Virus update:

In June Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV) was reported in the Danish islands in the Kattegat.  During the last epidemic in 2002 EWWC dealt with an influx of 170 common seals (normal common seal seasons bring around 50 seals) so measures were taken to ensure all the resources and systems were in place for the potential arrival of the virus once again.

All common seal pups admitted were blood sampled to check their antibody status to distemper virus.  In 2002 it was found that none of the pups tested had protective antibodies against distemper.  However in 2007 as more seals were admitted and tested it became apparent that most of the pups admitted had immunity to distemper.  This was in the form of antibodies they had received from their mother’s milk and was in stark contrast to 2002.  It was clear that another severe distemper outbreak in UK seals looked unlikely, as the immunity of the population as a whole was probablystill high from the last outbreak.  This proved to be the case when in August a report from the Swedish authorities stated that a distemper virus did not cause the unusually high numbers of seal deaths in the Kattegat.  Since then there have been no further reports of any unexpected seal deaths or disease.        

 

PROJECT UPDATES:

EWWC 01: Investigation of ultrasound techniques to measure blubber thickness in common seals undergoing rehabilitation.  
A MSc student (Wild Animal Health) Puja Basu continued the work started at East Winch 2 years ago.  Most seals are suffering from varying degrees of starvation when they are rescued and gradually regain condition during their stay with us. Most fat in seals is laid down beneath the skin as blubber and ultrasound scanning allows an objective and non invasive assessment of these reserves. 
The progress of seals through our rehabilitation process was monitored and current techniques for feeding, rehabilitation and release were supported by the findings. 
Calculations of total body fat at the time of release indicated that the seals percentage body fat was 37.8 to 40.8% which compares well with free living healthy common seals which have 30 to 40%. (Pitcher et al 2000)

 

EWWC 02: Post release survival of hand reared juvenile Blackbirds –
On Sunday the 8th of July we released 10 juvenile hand reared Blackbirds from a soft release aviary in Pentney, Norfolk.  This should have been our third and final year of our project but we may have to repeat it next year.  As with other soft releases the birds had food available in the aviary after they were released from it.  The support feeding was stopped after 2 weeks and the birds continued to feed around the release aviary until their tags suddenly stopped.  The tags failure was very disappointing as we only have 5 weeks of data unlike previous years where we have been able to track the birds for months.  We are not sure why the transmitters stopped but they all failed suddenly within days of each other and without any warning.
Fortunately all the birds had colour rings on so we were able to check that they were all alive but just not emitting a radio signal.

 

 

FUNDRAISING
Staff and volunteers worked incredibly hard during August to care for our 433 patients and prepare for our bi-annual open day.  Although we had rain for most of the day we had around 2000 visitors, raised £4,900 but most importantly we had the opportunity to talk to the public about our work.

The pictures below show swans being weighed in front of an audience, and radio-tracking sessions for beginners.

Contributions from Kevin Leighton, Ann Smith.
Photos by Andy Fowles, Keith Regan @ Blue Reef Aquarium.
Edited by Alison Charles.