November was a quiet month for Hilary’s Bird of Prey Hospital. We treated only 10 birds, which meant that we were able to do some of the many maintenance jobs that have been waiting to be completed.

The wild bird patients this month were:-

• Three Buzzards, two of them had serious head, face and eye injuries as well as a fractured wing. One of them also had signs of Frounce (mouth and throat infection). Both birds were euthanased. The third buzzard was bought to us by one of our local RSPCA officers, suffering from a very stiff wing. Our vet examined the bird on several occasions, but it was not showing any sign of improvement, and the conclusion was that the tendon and associated nerves had been damaged. Unfortunately this bird was also euthanased by the vet.
• Two Barn Owls were admitted. One was mildly stunned after hitting the windscreen of a car. There were no serious injuries, apart from the mild concussion. It recovered well and was released after a few days in the hospital. The second Barn Owl was badly injured with an open fracture to its left wing and had to be euthanased.
• We treated two Kestrels, one was euthanased because it was suffering from a large open would that could not be repaired.  The second Kestrel was a young bird, born this year. Apart from being very thin, it was not suffering from any other injuries. It was given plenty of food and recovered well, and was released after 3 weeks in our care.
• One Tawny Owl with Frounce was admitted, and this bird was euthanased.
• The Sparrow Hawk that we saw had a very badly injured wing and had to be euthanased.
• We saw a beautifully marked Red Kite but it had to be euthanased by the vet because of severe head and spinal injuries, caused by the bird colliding with a moving vehicle.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2010 from the Hospital staff.