The hospital continues to be quiet with only 11 birds bought in to be treated and looked after last month. This has allowed us the opportunity to carry out some limited refurbishment and maintenance work.

We have managed to install a set of new cupboards in the hospital kitchen for the storage of medicines, scales and other equipment. We are now part way through tiling the walls which will make cleaning much easier.

Some new perches have been made for the small recovery bays.

Trevor our 40 year old Bateleur Eagle

One of the 11 birds coming in for treatment was Trevor, our Bateleur Eagle. Trevor is one of the oldest birds on the park and is thought to be about 40 years of age. In the wild Bateleurs live in central, eastern and southern Africa. Trevor came into the hospital cold and wet; he was not feeding very well and was having difficulty getting up onto a perch. After a few days in the warm and making sure he got back into the habit of feeding, he has now returned to his aviary.

The ten other patients have been birds bought in from the wild. These included two Barn Owls who both died, one Buzzard with a badly broken wing, it had to be euthanized. Five Kestrels have received treatment for broken wings, head injuries and being wet and muddy. One has already been released back where it was found near Basingstoke.

We also received one Little Owl from the Andover area which had flown into a car windscreen resulting in a head injury. It is recovering well.

Wild Kestrel in recovery bay	Wild Little Owl	Wild Short Eared Owl

Just before Christmas, the Trust received a call from a Falconer who has a small collection near Tunbridge Wells in East Sussex, asking if we could accommodate an adult Short Eared Owl. This was agreed.

It is thought that the Owl had hit a barbed wired fence at the bottom of its stoop and badly damaged its right wing. A local vet had amputated the wing and returned it to the Falconer for continued treatment and care. It is in the hospital receiving ongoing care and being assessed so that a decision can be made about its future.

Mike Wallis.