Tuppence a bag

Sunday made me very happy. I woke up and looked out the window to see the pheasant in my raspberries! Turns out she is turning into a most handsome he!! I have not seen him for over 2 weeks, and you can't help but wonder if they are OK. I love it when then pop by to say hello and give reassurance that they do have some life skills and can survive wild. Isn't he beautiful?

I need to say thanks to the kind person who dropped in a donation to work last week. No name was left, but thank you so much! I have used the money to buy more feeding tubes and pheasant food for the chick, so thank you very much. 🐤❤️

The babies have upgraded to the aviary now they are self feeding, to join the new lodger (white Sudbury dove who has still not left yet 🤣) He doesn't seem that thrilled with the younger generation joining him but he has managed to persuade one of my female birds to stay in to balance out the ages! As they grow up, they will learn from my birds how to use the flap and they can be free, but for now, they are hanging out, testing out their wings and the patience of the older birds 🤣🕊❤️🕊❤️🕊❤️

Now I know I am closed, but when I get asked to help, I just can not say no 🙈 This cutie has been in my care since the weekend. Not much is required from me once the initial warmth and fluids phase is done, and they stabilise. They can be tricky initially, and this one needed the incubator for 24 hours as kept trying to fade. Once up and running, they tend not to look back. I provide heat, a soft toy for comfort, and the correct diet going forward. It's one of the easier birds to rear and definitely one of the cutest!

Thank you to Adele, who's kind donation has allowed me to restock my freezer of insects after I have been wiped to nothing by the swifts! I have purchased 1000 crickets and 500 waxworms to replenish supplies. ❤️🐤

My second beauty was released today, 9 days after her mate. I hope that they find each other up in the sky! The most vocal swift I have ever raised and I will miss her. She has a long flight ahead, such amazing little birds! 🐦❤️

This chap is the emaciated dove from Sudbury. He was so sad and lethargic on arrival, but after a couple of weeks of intensive care (fluids and crop feeding for 3 days) and then some good food, he feels much better. The aviary door has been open to the inside flight (and the release door to outside) for 5 days now. He has decided not to leave. My birds are coming and going, and he struts his stuff at the females but doesn't follow them out. He clearly thinks he has it too good now and isn't going back to a wild life. I think he will eventually realise he can come and go as he pleases, and the food and shelter are always there. 🕊❤️

New in is the baby dove, which I have paired up with the baby feral pigeon. The dove has a couple of puncture wounds under its wing that are requiring treatment, and both of them are being crop fed as too young to self feed. Much excitement as both were experimenting with the grain this morning, so it shouldn't be too much longer, and they can both go up to the aviary. 🕊❤️🕊❤️

Release day for the Jackdaw today. I don't think I actually started a post on him as it was a very busy time with an influx of birds. He has been in since early June, and it is very hard to describe this bird, and I wish I had taken a video. He would fall forward, face planting, and spinning in circles. Non flying and very thin. He was a bit of a mystery as to why he was like it. He was very determined to survive though, eating anything put in front of him, and so we decided to give him a go. The vet gave a magic jab which improved him slightly and so a longer course of anti inflammatories and some intensive nursing from my mum (I can take no credit for this one!) He was released today. Thanks, mum, for your hard work with him.

A big thank you to Rebecca McKenna for her very kind donation of waxworms. The swifts and swallow will make very short work of those, and they are very much needed. Thank you ❤️🐦❤️🐦❤️🐦

How the baby has changed! We now hang out in the garden together. That will change when the wild birds come to visit, I am sure, but for now I am happy with the company.

I have taken the decision to close for a while. The summer holidays are nearly upon me and things have got a bit too much lately. I need to spend time with my family, but I am actually at maximum capacity with the birds currently in my care. They need to wean and move out into the aviaries to create more space. I will update their stories as time allows! 🕊❤️🕊❤️🕊❤️🕊❤️🕊❤️🐦❤️🐦❤️🐦❤️🐥❤️🐦‍⬛

Another cutie that has been catted. Small wound to his leg, antibiotics have been started. He is very good and after 2 crop feeds has the hang of it and does the feed me dance when I appear 🤣🕊❤️

New arrivals of this week. Super busy times, but I will try and do stories over the weekend! All are doing well currently. 🕊❤️🐤❤️🐤❤️🐤❤️

Release day for Miss Blackbird yesterday. She is so grown up now and really needed releasing a bit sooner, but this weather 🙈I always want them to have the best chance and so held her back. She was ready to go, flying straight out as soon as the door was opened. Always the best feeling. ❤️🐦‍⬛

The three amigos have upgraded to an aviary this weekend. They have started self feeding, which is brilliant, and so now they just need to brush up their flying skills. There is no need for wilding off as we are not friends, so this bit will hopefully be quick. 🕊❤️🕊❤️🕊❤️

New in yesterday, this very sorry looking pigeon/dove. He was found in a garden acting a bit strange, not fearful of them or their cat and just sitting in the sun. I asked them to catch him and bring him in for an examination. This bird is emaciated. I can not find a reason for this, wings are beautiful and nothing abnormal in the mouth. He was tubed with fluids, and then he ate like the starved bird he is. The worry is that he will get refeeding syndrome or he has an internal badness that I can not fix. Only time will tell. I will monitor and see what appears over the next few days, and he will get a wormer once he is a bit stronger. Hopefully he will be ok and can live with my others 🕊❤️

The swallows are growing up! They are now experimenting with flapping of the wings and jumping out of the nest. At this stage, they would be up in the rafters waiting for mum and dad to bring food and practising flying in the roof before taking to the skies. This is the tricky bit for me because I can not replicate this. They have now upgraded to their green cage, which is a purpose built netted frame that they can not damage their wings in. This frame then travels with me, and I leave it outside so they can hear the birds that fly over at work. Not much longer and they will want to be with the wild birds. They are such amazing little birds! 🐦❤️🐦❤️

This beautiful fledgling pigeon had an unfortunate encounter with a cat. She has now completed a course of antibiotics, and I am now waiting for her to wean. She is being crop fed until she starts to pick up the seed of her own accord. Hopefully not too much longer!

Thank you to the kind person who left puppy training pads at my house week before last. Stocks were severely depleted after the ducks and much needed. Also, thank you to Penny for dropping in the bird seed to work. Miss Blackbird will be very happy with that. 🐦‍⬛❤️🕊❤️

A very blurry picture of the greedy starling with the wounds. He finished his antibiotic course and spent some time in the aviary just to make sure everything was going to be ok once the course had finished. He was off like a shot as soon as the doors were open. No hanging around, he has more food to find, but hopefully using bird feeders the correct way from now on!!! 🐦‍⬛❤️

A pair of wood pigeon chicks also joined me yesterday. This is a sad case of someone extracting them from a tree because the parents were not seen. Wood pigeon feed their young very infrequently and are extremely nervous, shy birds. There is nothing wrong with these chicks other than a few creepy crawly friends, which again is normal for wild birds. Had I had contact details, I would have had them returned to the tree. Instead, I have 2 frightened birds to rear now that hate me with a passion for no reason. Sorry, this post got a bit ranty, but I guess the moral of the story is to ask before picking up any wild animal. Each bird has their own way of rearing their young. Pigeons and doves will be left for longer periods of time between feeds than that of a blue tit or swallow. Ducklings should not be on their own. It is normal for blackbirds not to fly for a few days once they leave the nest. I will happily advise to save the parents losing their babies, they work so hard to rear them it's heartbreaking. 🕊❤️🕊❤️

Two more small people (Swallows) that were very dehydrated and hungry joined the mad house today. The hot weather is causing these babies to explode from the nests due to the intense heat in the roof of buildings where their parents make them. The finders had rightly tried to put them back in the nest, but they just kept leaving it again. They need frequent feeding now that they have had the initial fluids and warmth. Initially, one required force feeding, but both now gape and are easily pleased with a waxworm. A very cute pair! 🐦❤️🐦❤️

When that first sun hits, this is the position apparently, and it really says it all 🤣 What a beautiful weekend, and hallelujah that the summer is finally here. It makes life so much easier! This little bird is the best. She has bossed weaning and is now starting her in out routine to rewild and acclimatise to a normal bird life.

Everything is going well this end, I will hopefully have some more time to do updates this week (famous last words) I am being messaged about items needed from the wishlist by kind people. Currently, I am low on the insect pate as everyone I have eats it! Livefoods will always be used as well. I need to sort out the cupboards and work out what else is missing, but that requires time, so I will continue to wing it for now! Thank you so much for your support 🐦‍⬛❤️

The first new arrival is this poor adult Starling. He got trapped in a bird feeder and has sustained injuries to both wings and the tops of his legs. Luckily he hasn't broken anything, but he is so sore, and the wounds are bad on the underneath of his wings. It was difficult to photograph, but you get the idea. Starlings are made of tough stuff, so he has let me clean and cream his wounds, and he has been started on painkillers and antibiotics. Now that the stressful bit has been done, the trick is to not stress him too much going forward. He is greedy, and so I am injecting everything into waxworms to get meds in without having to handle him. Hopefully he will heal quickly!

Thank you so much to Becky and her husband for the waxworms, as you can see, they play a vital role in saving lives. 🐦‍⬛❤️

Madam Pheasant has upgraded again and is now out at night, living in one of the aviaries. She loves her new setup as she can scratch around in the bark or jump up on branches. I have removed her blanket, and she sleeps in hay. The process of wilding off begins now as she no longer needs to be handled.

Her diet is also changing. She is moving onto grains and off of the chick crumb. She loves the insect pate and as a treat to encourage natural foraging, I throw some waxworms in the shavings for her to find. She is a delight to watch, and I hope she continues to do well. 🐤❤️

Apologies for the silence, this working week has been a long one with lots of out of hours work and sick ponies (no sleep had!)

From diddy baby to grown up, it was release week for the collared dove as well. She was very ready to go and shot off to the trees as soon as the door was opened. There are plenty of others that feed in my garden, so she will not be short of friends.

Thank you the kind person that dropped in the waxworms to work this week. They have fed the baby nicely, I will get a picture of her soon as an update. 🕊❤️

Release this weekend for the angry birds/mad professors! Reluctant at first, they didn't leave the aviary until Sunday. They will be support fed, and I can hear them in the woods next to the garden. I hope they will do well out in the wild. So very hard for them not having life skills being raised by a human. Let's hope they are smart enough to survive.

These 5 were in my care just over 7 weeks. I have brought 2500 waxworms so far this year and have received exrra waxworms from you wonderful lot too, to help with their care. I would like to say thank you to you all. This week, my wonderful neighbour Kate has bought more supplies for the ducklings, and lovely Adele has donated more money towards my waxworms. Without all of you, I wouldn't be able to raise so many birds. Thank you so much. 💓 # # #

Despite being shut this week (workload and cost with so many birds), small people are still coming through the doors. Unfortunately, many have been too injured to save. The wounds from cats have caused septicaemia, or they have died in my hands when I force feed them (small birds are unable to tolerate any handling). It's pretty depressing, really. Only one little guy has made it home to me (pictured). He has gone without food for a while, but he is still trying to live. He was found abandoned, and the finders correctly waited to see if a mum came back. He is hot in the incubator and is fed every 30 minutes with waxworms and hand rearing formula. He is a quiet soul, I'm not sure if he has other issues that will emerge in time, or maybe my poor ears have been so abused by starling noise that anything else seems quieter. 🤣 Wish him luck 🐦‍⬛❤️

Look at how beautiful she is! Super cheeky and feeling full of beans, very different from the dying chick that arrived. She has also upgraded to being out in the day but still requires tucking in at night (it is too cold for the babies to stay out currently) Evenings are fun rounding everyone up to bring into the house 🫠

Thank you to everyone who has donated newspapers after my appeal, particularly Helens Hedgehogs, who has stocked me up well and truely! I don't require any more for the time being, thank you. 🐤❤️

The mess in just 5 seconds flat!!!! The messy crew are outside during the day now (if the weather isn't disgusting) and in at night. I am desperately low on newspapers if anyone has any they can spare please? I appear to be running out of lots of things as everyone is getting bigger and eating me out of house and home! I shall update my wishlist accordingly, but for now, newspapers please and thank you ❤️🦆❤️🦆❤️🦆❤️🦆