Home->About Us->Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation

For full details of these projects and current up to date news on the Trust's work please visit The Accipiter, our on line magazine.

Every year, The Hawk Conservancy Trust receives hundreds of injured raptors. Most of these come from members of the public. Other birds arrive from local veterinary surgeries, farmers, the RSPCA and the Police.
Injuries for wild birds can consist of broken wings, damaged legs and talons, eye injuries or sometimes just very low condition where the bird is virtually starving. In some cases poisoning has occurred. Where this happens we make contact with our Police Wildlife Liaison Officer, who will then endeavour to find out if the poisoning was deliberate or accidental. Wherever possible, all the birds are rehabilitated as soon as possible and re-released in the area they were found. In a number of cases, the birds are not 100 percent fit for release, but are otherwise healthy. Where this occurs, the birds will sometimes be accommodated at the Trust. Sadly, in other cases, birds have suffered injuries which will prevent them from ever leading a healthy life - in the wild or at the Trust. In these cases, the birds are put to sleep.
Apart from wild birds, the residents occasionally need treatment. Most of the time this involves worming twice a year or beak and talon maintenance (coping). Raptor medicine is, however, a complex subject which is always advancing. Some of our birds have been treated for conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, foot lesions, and a range of other (sometimes very unusual) ailments.
The Hawk Conservancy Trust has always treated all of these birds in the facilities which have been used for many years. Apart from our injured bird room, we have also accommodated injured stock in the warmest and most comfortable place possible. Many years ago, this might have been in our director's bathroom! From the 1996 season, it was recognised that the then current facilities were not sufficient to cope with what was going to be an increasing number of sick and injured birds.
To make provision, The Hawk Conservancy began fundraising to build a new specialist hospital for birds of prey. Two seasons later the fundraising was almost complete, and in the winter of 1998/1999 work began on the new hospital. Apart from providing accommodation for our sick and injured birds, the hospital also has the facility to show our visitors some of the work in this area. At the front of the hospital there are viewing windows. From here our visitors can watch very young birds, recently hatched, that still require a specialist environment inside an incubator. Not surprisingly, they are the same incubators which are used for new-born children. The young birds are very appealing, and although they can be seen in the incubator room, we continue to take them outside on sunny days for our visitors to see. General weathering is very important for young birds. In a nest they would be exposed to virtually all the elements - unless they were an owl in a hollow tree or nest box.
Injured birds often require several stages of rehabilitation ranging from complete rest (ie restriction) of the wings up to regular exercise for more advanced patients. Both indoor and outdoor flights are used, as well as confinement bays to keep particularly nervous birds in safe conditions. The new hospital makes allowance for this and, of course, for the tremendous size difference in patients - from Pygmy Owls to Andean Condors.

Objectives:

The Hawk Conservancy Trust is already a major centre for receiving nearly 200 wild-injured birds of prey per year. To further improve the care provided to these birds, there are several areas that require development. Some of these are short- to medium-term objectives, other longer term:

• Construct additional rehabilitation aviaries adjacent to the hospital. These will enable convalescing birds to gain fitness prior to release back to the wild.
• Provide accommodation for staff and researchers above the hospital to ensure that care is available every day of the week, including after hours.
• The purchase of additional hospital equipment is required to continue developments in the areas of rehabilitation and veterinary techniques.
• The employment of an intern. This person will assist with the day-to-day care of patients, and with coordinating the re-release of rehabilitated patients. They will also be involved with the research component of the Trust's work.
• Construct mobile release aviaries for returning birds back to suitable habitat in the wild. These will enable birds to acclimatise to their surroundings over a period of time prior to release.
• Continue making contact with organisations with similar objectives to the Trust, to share knowledge, expertise and information.
• To purchase a Trust vehicle for releasing recovered adult birds back to their original locations, transporting mobile aviaries, habitat assessment programmes and regular monitoring of young birds undergoing release.

Would you like to be present at the release of an injured bird, or go out tracking with our research students? By becoming a Friend of the Hilary Smith Bird of Prey Hospital, you will have the opportunity to help support this aspect of the Trust's work. In addition you will also receive a quarterly newsletter detailing the hospital's activities, a Friend's certificate, your name displayed outside the hospital, 3 copies of our member's newsletter Hawktalk, and an admission ticket for 2 adults. Cost :£100 renewable annually. Click here for more information

---