Tawny Owl with broken wings

Straited Caracara Sirius with bumblefoot

As in the good old London bus scenario, the hospital has had quiet periods and busy periods during the past month. As I write this, it is pretty full of both wild birds and some of our own residents.

We have had seven Tawny owls, three of which had to be euthanased; one was dead on arrival and one died soon after arrival. The suggested possible cause for the injuries to all five was road traffic accidents. Of the remaining two, one is still in the hospital being fed up, having come in from Stockbridge very thin and with concussion. The other had been in the hospital for a month and is now settling into our Tawny Owl aviary.

Galaxy the Spectacled Owl

One success story was a Sparrow Hawk which came in on 22 October having been found on the A34 near Newbury. It was thin, had blood in its left eye and a trauma to its right wing. After a good recovery, it was re-released by volunteer Jan Jacobs on 17 November.

Four Kestrels also arrived during this period, one of which died and one had to be euthanased because it had a fractured lower spine and was paralysed. The third is still with us, recovering from sinus problems caused by a bang to its head, as is the fourth, which was found near Bulford and was thin when it arrived, so is currently being fed up and will hopefully soon be re-released.

Other current patients include a Barn-owl which is recovering from a shoulder injury and one of the young Hobbies which Mike wrote about last month. It will have to stay with us until next spring as it is a migratory species and has now ‘missed the boat’ for this year, so to speak.

We also have three of our own birds in at present; Sirius the Straited Caracara is all bandaged up and receiving medication after undergoing an operation for bumblefoot. Galaxy the Spectacled Owl has a foot infection and is being treated with antibiotics, and Coll the Black Kite, who has always been a sickly child, is undergoing a problematical moult and so a bit of warmth and TLC in one of the hospital bays should hopefully help him along.