First herring gull chicks arrive at Berwick Swan and Wildlife Trust

The gosling, although three weeks younger, is now bigger than the duckling, who is becoming well feathered and has a distinctive tweedy jacket coming in. The gosling is still very downy and this is so thick you cannot reach his skin. He loves being outside on the grass and enjoys his lettuce. The duckling eats everything. Grain, mealworms, lettuce all get gobbled up.

Our two young feral pigeons are playing games with us. One in particular loves to be hand fed and when we go into the aviary both are hand fed some grain as they (we thought) were only just beginning to peck up for themselves. I thought they were well enough grown that they should be feeding themselves.

On Saturday, Jackie said that after she had fed them both by hand she scattered some corn on the log we use as a table in the aviary to hand feed. She left them to carry on other cleaning and feeding. When she checked them again half an hour later all the grain had gone. She messaged to tell me the news and she said she had put more grain on the log when she left at tea time. When we arrived on Sunday morning there was just a little of the sweetcorn left which they don’t particularly like.

I put some more grain on the log, fought off the pigeon that likes to sit on my shoulder or head whilst I am working, cleaned the aviary and left them to it. There followed a lot of ‘Feed Me’ squeaking and then both birds came down on to the log and started eating for themselves. They were still calling every time they saw me but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. They need to grow up and forget people. They are able to feed themselves perfectly well.

Our young tawny owlet is doing very well. He eats for himself already, eating a chick and two mice at night and a chick for his breakfast, or supper I suppose as he is up all night. He is almost ready to go into the Longridge Aviary. When Kay cleaned him he just hops onto her hand to go back in his nice clean cage then hops off into the cage.

He is still very downy and his eyes follow you if you are in his eyeline. I don’t think he will be a red tawny as he is very placid. Even when they are babies the red tawny shows his feisty nature.

We have had our first herring gull chicks arrive. A downpour washed the three youngsters off roofs. Even when only a week old the gull babies have such long strong legs. They leave the nest and strut about the ridge of the roof. Jackie sent me a picture of one on the roof of the house opposite hers. No wonder they fall off and come in to us. We now have a total of seven gull chicks all growing like mushrooms.

They are eating cat or dog food (small chunks), fresh fish cut up small with tinned sardines or tuna mashed in. Once they are cleaned (a very messy job) and put back into the cage with two bowls of food in each, they rush in have a good meal and all lie down together and sleep.