This month has been the busiest month we have had this year and I think we would entitle it “The month of the Owl”. More about Owls below.

I mentioned last month that Hades, our Gyr Falcon was receiving treatment for a slight foot infection. Hades has now returned to his aviary.

Tawny owl chicks in nursery bay

Back to Owls. Out in the countryside, Tawny Owl chicks have been hatching for a few weeks and some are still getting out of their eggs. Some are falling out of their nests which can usually be found in natural holes in trees, old Woodpecker nest sites, boxes, caves, holes in walls and buildings as well as inside barns, outhouses and church towers. As space in the nest site gets overcrowded and the chicks move about one may fall out. If it is possible to get it back into the nest, this is the best treatment for the bird otherwise they end up in care.

Young Tawny owls in the creche aviary

We have received 18 baby Tawny Owl chicks so far this year, against just 11 in total last year. This year appears to be a better breeding year for many species of bird around the garden and countryside. The Tawny chicks we have received to date range from a couple of weeks old up to about 4 weeks, and generally from around the Hampshire/Wiltshire area, although one has been brought to us from Bath.

The birds are grouped by estimated age in nursery bays, having spent the first day or so with us in a small bay so that they can be closely observed to make sure they are feeding themselves. They are then transferred into a larger bay and as they continue to grow and start to fly between the perches. They are eventually moved into one of our outside rehabilitation bays adjacent to the hospital building. Here they can improve their flying skills.

The Owls will be released later in the summer as part of the project which was started in 2005.

Northern Hawk Owl chick being fed

We also have in our small bird nursery (incubators), two Northern Hawk Owls, one Malaysian Brown Wood Owl and a Milky Eagle Owl. These were born in the hospital from eggs laid by the parents in the Trust’s aviaries.

It is intended that these birds will be trained to be part of our regular displays. More about them next month.

Malaysian Wood Owl chick in his 'nest'

We are treating, or have treated 10 other wild Birds of Prey. There have been 3 Sparrowhawks from Hampshire and Wiltshire. One was euthanased at the vets, one has recovered well after arriving very wet and thin and will be released soon. The other one, a male known as a Musket, came to us, via an RSPCA officer, suffering from wing and tail damage. It is now recovering well.

We received one Barn Owl, via our vet in Andover, with wing damage. It is thought that it had flown into some scaffolding. It did not recover and had to be euthanased. We have seen one Buzzard with a badly broken wing and it was also blind in one eye. It was euthanased by our vet as he could not repair the wing. We also treated four adult Tawny Owls with various injuries resulting from road traffic accidents; one is still receiving treatment but the other three died from their injuries.

We are treating one Trust bird; Charlie Brown, a male Lanner, or Lanneret. He has a wound to his abdomen, caused when he flew into a fence. It has been stitched by our vet. He has completed his medication and is recovering well.