Most birds released back to the wild
Arriving back at the Rollo Centre after a holiday, there was a lot less to do as the ducks and two barn owls, the mute swan and cygnets had all been released back into the wild while I was away.
I had been travelling in Chile and saw some black-necked swans which are beautiful birds and look as the name suggests: white with black necks and a red bill knob.
As it’s spring down there, the two adults had three white youngsters that they were carrying around on their backs.
There are now six juvenile pigeons in the aviaries, three of which haven’t been outside for long and seem to think they should still be hand-fed even though they are big enough, and quite able to pick up and eat their own food.
Consequently, when we go in to clean and feed them, they flap around us for attention and try to land on our heads. They will soon be moved into a bigger area then they can get some distance from us and start to rewild.
There are 23 hedgehogs currently at the Rollo Centre, 19 are in the inside warmer rooms and four are in the big room. The four in the big room hadn’t disturbed their food overnight so are apparently starting to bed down for the winter, although it isn’t yet very cold and it feels a bit earlier than usual.
The hedgehogs in the back rooms are putting on weight and a few will soon be ready to join the sleepers while a number are not going to be big enough for hibernating this year.
On an average day, each hedgehog eats about half of a can of dog food so with current numbers, we are currently using over 70 cans of food per week. The hedgehogs that are with us now, and any future ones brought in, will stay through until next April time which amounts to a lot of cans.
In order to help us meet these costs, we are running our annual Sponsor A Hedgehog appeal which many of you kindly support.
The way it works is that you choose which hedgehog to sponsor from a selection of pictures of those in our care, give it a name and leave your contact details. You will receive the picture and in the spring we will update you on its progress before, hopefully, it is released back into the wild.
At the centre, we do not name any of our guests but instead give them a reference number, which this year has started MZ for the mammals and BZ for the birds – we have been working through the alphabet but as we’ve reached the end, I’m not sure what we will be doing in January!
Sponsored hedgehogs make a worthwhile Christmas gift and can be purchased from us this Saturday (November 14) at our stand inside Morrisons supermarket.
If you can’t make it, you can call in to the Rollo Centre – the cost is £30. They will also be available at our Christmas Fair which is being held at Berwick Baptist Church on Saturday, December 5.
Sadly, avian influenza is once again back in the area with the arrival of the winter migrating birds. It was reported by Defra last week as present at a poultry farm in the Scottish Borders. Any birds brought to us will need to be checked and tested before they are allowed on the premises.
Please be aware and do not touch any dead birds you may find or let your dog pick them up.