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With Winter clinging on to the North of Scotland, the wildlife are still looking for food to get through the cold nights. The rescued pigeons have no such worries since they are indoors and being fed well. The paraplegic pigeon is still recovering after 6 weeks, the right leg is more stable and he is now able to not only fly around the house, but he even managed to fly back into his box which required a lot of skill. He sometimes sits at the window watching the pigeons in the garden and is keen to join them. I will let him go when the weather improves and feeding is abundant, where his chances of survival are at an optimum. When I found him paralysed and blood running from his beak, I was pretty sure he was a goner - yet again TLC and the will to live won the day.
As for Woody and Alan the two woodpigeons that I've had for 2 weeks, they are strengthening their wings and now look like two young woodpigeons. They have grown so fast and will soon be fledged. Short video below.
The 15 rescued mallard ducklings will be released this week into the river, hopefully now with a better chance of survival.
After 3 months The Bank of Scotland have finally set up the Trust Bank account, it has been a yo - yo application, and the Bank has apologised for the errors and delays, as a gesture of goodwill they will deposit £25 into the account, Thats nearly a week's food supply for the swans and waterfowl.
This spring has been consistently cold, resulting in fewer ducks leaving the lower river to nest, and an increase in the feed required at this time.
Thanks to the trust membership, the Swans, waterfowl and small riverside birds are being well taken care of.
The Rescues carried out over the past year, totalled 23 birds, 8 pigeons, 7 herring gulls, 7 ducklings, and one swan. Then there was Popeye with his infected leg successfully treated.
All but 5 of these survived to be returned to the wild, but 4 of the ducklings have since been killed by predators, including dogs.
The current pigeon
rehabbed at home is doing well, after nearly 3 weeks it is flying about the house, but still has a balance problem on it's weak right side. The symptoms are similar to a stroke victim and it could be permanent, although I am working on the physiotherapy side. Considering it was totally paralysed 3 weeks ago, the progress has been remarkable.
Short vid below.
My Thanks to Sue our Avian adviser for all the helpful advice. Sue is a remarkable woman who carries out extremely difficult and dangerous rescues down south, she gets frequent black eyes, gets covered in mud, occasionally loses her glasses, and has even had a broken rib from a Swan she had to rescue. Well done Sue !
Finally, I heard from a dog walker tonight that she saw a dead Drake off the path verge recently, yet another dog casualty !
I have asked Cllr Liz Mcdonald repeatedly for a few signs between the road bridge and bailey bridge, but she says she doesn't think they will be taken notice of . The Trust feels that educating the public takes time, and responsible signage will have an effect over time, even responsible dog owners agree with this.
