The Accipiter - Hospital Update July 2005

Hospital Update - July 2005

A monthly look at the comings and goings in our Hilary Smith Bird of Prey Hospital by volunteer Michael Wallis.

We have probably reached the busiest time of the year for the hospital with a lot of chicks and young birds being brought in. We are still receiving adult and mature birds on a regular basis, the majority seem to be due to traffic accidents. As a result, space in the hospital is at a premium. Extra help with everyday chores has been provided by work experience students and volunteers.

During the last month we have admitted three Little Owls from Fareham, Marlborough and Andover, two Kestrels and three adult Tawny Owls from Hampshire, three Buzzards (including one from Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire bought in by an RSPCA Officer) and a Sparrowhawk from near Basingstoke. All are in the hospital receiving treatment. A Tawny Owl and a Little Owl have been returned to the wild.

Baby Tawny Owls. A total of 18 chicks of various ages have been brought in. I am please to report that all the chicks are growing very well thanks to the good work being carried out by their foster parents. It is intended that they will all be released back out into the wild as part of a Tawny Owl study later in the year.

The Red Kite is back in the re-hab aviary so that he can be “fed up” to help his improving health.

Great Grey Owls. Last month I reported that we had three chicks in the hospital. Unfortunatley one died early on but as you can see from the photograph, the other two are progressing very well. They now weigh in at 150 grams and 186 grams. Both birds are being hand reared and will eventually go to other collections. One of the pair is very noisy and makes himself heard whenever we enter the hospital. Brief video footage showing this is available - Windows Media Player Format (653KB) or Quicktime (4.3MB).

Milky Eagle Owl. On the 27th April this chick was lifted from the aviary and bought into the hospital for his own protection and to be hand reared. It was estimated that he was probably 11 days old. The bird is now 9 weeks old and looking really grand. This is due to the constant 24 hour attention provided by Hilary and Brenda while living his early days in Hilary’s house. He is now in the hospital because of his size and is always very pleased to see visitors. He weighs 1300 grams. It is intended that he will remain on the park. He has been named “Tolkien” after the British scholar and professor of English. In fact we do not yet definitely know if this bird is male or female. The bird is not fully grown yet so it will be difficult to judge by size for a few more weeks.

Breaking News. I can also announce a very happy event. Over the weekend of the 11th/12th June a baby Griffon Vulture hatched in the hospital incubator with a little help from staff. Next month, Mike Riley will write up the details of why the staff had to help the chick to hatch and how it happened.

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