Late Shift with the Corvids

It’s getting busier every week with more and more admissions of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. This week I assisted in near enough every area, but was assigned one room to take charge of myself; the Corvid room. It’s nice knowing that my development is being noticed and that wildlife assistants and supervisors now feel that they can assign me a room to care for myself.

The Corvid room consists of basically a lot of orphaned Corvids!! Corvid's are a specific family of birds which include Rook’s, Magpies, Crows and Jackdaw, all very intelligent birds. I was in charge of hourly feeds, cleans, topping up food and water and if needed assisting in admitting treatments with the aid of wildlife assistants and veterinary nurses. My knowledge and experience of working the orphan room really helped for my lone work in the Corvid room and I was able to get straight to work and monitor any unusual behaviours.

   

During a late shift there are generally fewer staff so we have to organise ourselves to ensure all areas are fed, watered and locked up for the night. I assisted Michelle in preparing and providing feeds to the foxes located outside.  We also fed our pair of otters (which are growing fast) and many other bird species that are now in our aviaries. We herded in the ducklings and ensured everywhere was secure and locked down for the night. I also helped clean and feed the ducklings inside, assisted in orphan room and also helped clean rooms and prepare feeds and stock up on equipment and materials.

  

I was able to observe Katie (Seasonal Wildlife Assistant) admitting some new animals, which included Hedgehogs and a racing pigeon! The staff here take great care in taking as much information as possible on the animals when they first arrive.  Each patient gets a printed card which remains with the animals until their is an end result. All data entered onto the database is apparently analysed at the end of the year so that the team can assess how well they have done with each species.

Laura Thorpe - Volunteer Wildlife Assistant

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I'm having a 'Raven' time - week three of my volunteering at Stapeley Grange

This week volunteering at RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre I assisted Michelle (Wildlife
Assistant) in Isolation where I met a beautiful fledgling Raven. The Raven currently being rehabilitated in Isolation was rescued from Wigan which is where I currently live and not far from the street that the Raven was rescued.  I have seen a few around Wigan but will be on the lookout for more now...they are so beautiful and clever.

Ravens are the biggest member of the crow family; they are very smart birds and are a popular resident here in the UK mainly situated in the west and north though they are showing to be expanding eastwards. The majority of Ravens are permanent residents in the UK although some
birds especially those that do not breed have shown to travel, but not too far.

Before entering the pen, I checked the Ravens records and looked inside to assess its body language, I worked as fast as I could to prevent the bird becoming overly stressed as stress in birds can cause further complications.  I watched Michelle catch the Raven and place it inside a cardboard box, I enjoy observing Michelle catch and restrain as I have started restraining the animals being rehabilitated and further gaining my confidence and skills in the areas. Once the Raven was placed into the box, we weighed it and whilst Michelle filled in the birds details I quickly cleaned and disinfected the branches and placed in fresh bedding and provided it with some clean branches to perch on.  Once the pen was cleaned, I provided the Raven with food and water and then Michelle released it back into the pen without having to handle it.  We are hoping that he will be moved outside soon which is where it will stay before before being released back to where it came from, which hopefully I can be involved in.

Laura Thorpe - Volunteer Wildlife Assistant

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Fox cub update - a volunteering experience

My first week I assisted in caring for three fox cubs, providing them with food, water and observed how they were syringe fed, toileted and provided with treatment from the Wildlife Assistants and Veterinary nurses.

 

Over the past couple of weeks the centre is seeing far more animals arrive with the number of orphaned fox cubs in care rising fast. I assisted in the care of these cubs on my second week; I helped to clean their pens, feed and water the cubs, and observed Michelle handling and weighing them.  Michelle explained that it was important that that this was done quickly and efficiently so to prevent the cubs imprinting; essential that we keep them wild. The centre has strict protocols with regards handling and reducing human contact for all its animals so the hospital can be a very quiet place at timees, especially when it comes to working in the fox room.

March to September is the centres busiest period as it when the team receives many orphaned animals. I am particularly interested in foxes and other wild mammals and enjoy caring for them.  Overall the fox cubs appear to be doing really well and interacting with each other showing as they should and showing some natural wild behaviors, as you can see from this shot clip (they are so cute). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbIrWf-ZEWI

It is great to see they are all doing so well and are on track to be released later by the team later in the year. 

Laura Thorpe - Volunteer Wildlife Assistant

Sponsors of Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery

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Volunteering at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre – Part 2 - Laura Thorpe

Week 2 volunteering at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and another full day assisting my volunteer 'buddy' Michelle (Wildlife Assistant) on her daily duties caring and rehabilitating a variety of British Wildlife. I met many more new faces and was again greeted into a welcoming environment with many people who share the same interests and passions as I do.

I spent the day on outside duties but also helped out in other areas of the centre too. I helped care for a variety of patients including swans, ducks, Canadian geese (which the Centre has a special license for), hedgehogs, many types of bird including a sparrow hawk, otters and Celia, our orphaned Grey seal.

The day started with checking all those animals in care. We then started the process of feeding and cleaning and there is always lots of cleaning to do. I am really enjoying learning about handling and restraint techniques and administering treatments needed for all the different animals they have in care.  Watching and learning about injecting swans was great and is really expanding my knowledge.

Having never seen them in the wild before, the highlight of the day had to be to see the two otters; we cleaned their pen and refilled their pool. Michelle explained their feed of fish goes in their pool for enrichment allowing them to act out natural wild behaviors.  We are in and out so quickly so to minimise contact...it is so important to keep them wild. 

My next exciting task was feeding Celia her fish which was thrown into different areas of her pool; this forces her to search for her food. I later helped empty and clean Celia’s pool. I enjoyed cleaning her pool but worked fast keeping an eye on her at all times as seals may look cute but have nasty teeth! 

Michelle explain one indicator of a seals health is a wet ring around their eyes indicating they are hydrated. I also learnt the difference between the two types of seals in the UK; the common seal and the grey seal.

To finish off the day Michelle and I made up all the outside feeds for the late shift to take out; they also complete the last check of the day and lock up all the pens and aviaries. I really enjoyed my day outside with Michelle and learnt a lot about that stage of rehabilitation within the centre.  Luckily the weather was really nice! 

Sponsors of Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery

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Volunteering at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre - my first Day (Part 1)

My name is Laura Thorpe and I have always dreamed of a life dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife especially local wildlife here in Britain. Coming from a background in Animal Care and Welfare mainly focusing on domestics, exotic reptiles and larger livestock I had a little insight into the dedication and commitment it takes to care for animals, but from spending my first day at Stapeley Grange I knew that this new journey of mine would be completely different, still amazing but completely different. It excited me and encouraged me to pursue my dream no matter how long it would take, I was ready to work hard and give everything I can to become competent in Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

Arriving at Stapeley Grange I was welcomed by many lovely faces, they made me feel welcomed and needed and were very helpful in getting me settled and started. I arrived at 8 am and got stuck straight in, I was spending the day with Michelle who has been a Wildlife Assistant at Stapeley Grange for many years, she’s traveled all around the world and has so much knowledge and experience, and she’s also fearless! I am going to be working beside Michelle every week as well as helping the entire team, I guess she’s acting as my mentor, training and teaching me the ins and outs of how to care and rehabilitate a variety of British Wildlife.

We started the day with the orphaned fox cubs, this alone was amazing as I have never seen fox cubs before and so was an experience in itself. Entering the room you must be very quiet to avoid creating a stressful environment for the cubs and avoids the cubs learning human voices so that they do not gain any type of relationship or interaction with humans for when they are released back into the wild.

This was definitely one of the highlights of the day; I observed Michelle syringe feeding the cubs, the handling techniques used and how to safely feed them. It’s important to remember that handling of any wild animal especially cubs such as foxes and badgers should be kept minimal as “ A tame fox, is a dead fox” and so the centre has strict protocols to follow when handling wild animals, this will help with their release and will help the animals cope better in the wild. Once fed I also observed how Michelle would toilet them, it is very important to stimulate the animal to urinate as most mammal young are unable to urinate without assistance. This would normally be done by their mothers and is therefore important to do when the animal is being rehabilitated as it could cause infection or a lack of interest in further feeding. Whilst Michelle was completing these tasks I would help clean and disinfect their nursery and discard of any waste correctly inspecting whether they had been urinating and defecating properly. I would also help prepare their feed and disinfect any equipment and clean and tidy the room ready for their next feed, this was done three times throughout my shift and was a task I very much enjoyed observing and participating in.

PART 2 to follow soon....

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Seal release in North Wales

Last weekend, myself (Lynsey Cale) and two colleagues, saw another successful seal release!  These usually run quite smoothly, as the seals are keen to exit the confines of their vari-kennel, and need little encouragement to swim into the sea.

However! whilst one of our two seals was gone in a flash, the second had other ideas which involved staying put! We waited patiently, hoping the lapping waves and incoming tide (!) might encourage him out of his kennel - but oh no, that would be too easy!!

Eventually we tilted and tipped! We slowly tilted the kennel and out popped the seal; it worked, the seal was out!

                                                       

Before i had a chance to move the vari-kennel out of the way, the reluctant seal had spun around and sped his way back into the container!  After repeating the tilt/tip process again, we used the two empty kennels to create a barrier, so as to prevent the seal from moving back up the beach!

       

Perseverance prevailed and our apprehensive sea dog, eventually got the message and could be seen swimming out to see.  Both these seals were rescued during the December storms, so after 4 months in rehab, they were finally home.

Hurrah!

Sponsors of Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery

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Sibling kestrel chicks reunited at Stapeley

Two fledgling kestrels that fell from the same nest at a Manchester train station were reunited in the hospital. I was there to receive them both and although their stories were both very sad, there was some degree of satisfaction that we could, at the very least, reunite the siblings at Stapeley.

The first chick was found on a construction site on Hanover Street in Manchester after it was believed to have fledged from his nest near Manchester Victoria Station. The second was collected by a RSPCA inspector just two days later when he was found stuck between two wooden supports at the station.

Sadly because they could not be returned to the nest they were both admitted to RSPCA Stapeley Grange for further care. They are such beautiful birds; they have been with us now for about 6 weeks. They are doing really well and are now outside. We are all hoping that we can return them back to the wild by the end of this month.

Sponsors of Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery

To Support RSPCA Stapeley Grange by donating £3, simply text RSPCA2 to 70007 
Texts cost £3 + standard network rate