Admissions and Releases

In March we admitted a total of 173 casualties, made up of 47 species.

April saw a huge rise in admissions to 416, made up of 49 species

Top Ten Admissions in March		Top Ten Admissions in April
Collared Dove	25	Mallard	195
Mallard	18	Hedgehog	37
Mute Swan	17	Rabbit	28
Rabbit	15	Collared Dove	23
Hedgehog	12	Blackbird	19
Wood Pigeon	10	Mute Swan	15
Grey Seal	7	Wood Pigeon	13
Tawny Owl	7	Tawny Owl	6
Muntjac	5	Muntjac	5
Brown Hare	4	Moorhen	4

THE UNLUCKIEST SWAN WE HAVE SEEN:

ACO Richard Lythgoe rescued this Mute swan from Peterborough as it had a fishing hook embedded in its neck.  On arrival we x-rayed the bird to find not only did it have a hook in its neck but 7 airgun pellets from two different types of gun and lead in its gizzard too.  The swan had a general anaesthetic, had its gizzard flushed to remove the lead then the hook removed from its neck.  Our vet has decided to leave all 7 pellets in the swan, as it would cause more damage if they were removed.  The bird is recovering well and we hope to release him as soon as he has finished his course of antibiotics.

WHOOPER SWAN: This bird was found on the 18th March at Welney, Cambridgeshire by ACO Christine Grant, it had crash landing and was found at the side of a road.  Pressure was on to get the bird fit and well as it needed to make the return trip to Iceland for the breeding season. As with all our other swans the bird was ringed with a BTO ring before it was released.  As it was in such good shape prior to release we hope it will return home to Iceland for the summer just a little later than its peers.

 

WELSH SEALS: 11 seals were returned including this melanistic grey seal ‘Black and Decker’. Although unusual to see all black seals we have had 6 in care since 1988.
Thanks to our Welsh colleagues for returning the pups to the wild.

 

PROJECT UPDATES:

Post-release survival of juvenile roe deer.
During March we lost the signal from the last of our roe fawns fitted with a transmitter.  The fawn has been seen alive and well in a field with other deer so we are confident that this was battery or tag failure not due to the demise of the deer. This marks the end of two years of tracking deer and means we now have 5 fawns as part of our study group. We intend to continue the project and track more fawns if we get any into care this year.

Hedgehog tagging. 
Tag number B4E was admitted on the 20/11/06 with a heavy lungworm burden and ticks.  She was released on the 5/01/07 after treatment and has been re sighted in a garden with 3 other hogs on the 3/04/07.
Tag number B3H was admitted on the 3/11/06 with ringworm then released after recovery on the 12/03/07.  He has been seen twice on the 1/04/07 and the 4/04/07.

TRAINING - H&S - Staff enjoyed the half-day training session from Kevin O Kane the RSPCA H&S advisor.  All agreed our biggest area for concern is when we regularly lift 50Kg plus seals from the bottom of empty pools.  Kevin was hopeful he would be able to help and is currently contacting lifting equipment manufacturers.

 

FUNDRAISING:

19th May - “Wild about Wensum Day” at Pensthorpe, Fakenham, Norfolk.

19th August – EWWC OPEN DAY – Planning is going well and raffle tickets are now available from the office.

 

Contributions from Ann Smith, Kevin Leighton, Kate Price.
Photos by Andrew Forsyth RSPCA photolibrary, Andy Fowles.
Edited by Alison Charles.