Blog - Corvid Isle

12/03/202327/04/2025

First Aid for Birds

Spring is approaching, and this means that this year’s nesting season is about to start too. At this time of the year birds start building their nests, flitting to and from their nesting sites in search of nesting materials. Nesting behaviour and success are affected by weather and climate. And so it is no surprise that climate change is also having an impact on our native birds, leading to an even earlier start of the breeding season, which is causing the ecosystem to become unbalanced. Due to these changes, hatchlings and nestlings are potentially at risk of starvation, if their food sources, like for example insects or sand eel, are not emerging at the right time or near the place of nesting.

30/05/202530/05/2025

The Ethics of Pet Ownership: A Case Study

Content Advisory Notice: Please be informed that the forthcoming material describes images of violence, which might be distressing for some individuals. However, no photographs of violence or graphical imagery has been used in this post.

Introduction

We often get requests for advice from all over the world regarding corvids, birds and wildlife in general, and even sometimes regarding domestic animals. Over the years we have covered many of these queries by individual blog posts. These blog posts can be found on our dedicated First Aid for Birds or Corvid Care pages, in our FAQ section, or in the general Corvid Isle Archive. Occasionally, a special topics come up that might trigger a new blogpost, like this one about the ethics of pet ownership.

09/02/202509/02/2025

A Practical Guide for the Care of Aging Birds

Introduction

Sanctuaries are safe places, where resident animals can live a protected and happy life, grow old and eventually pass away in dignity. This also means that with good care more and more animals may reach an advanced age, which they rarely would in the wild. The logical consequence is that carers in sanctuaries should be able to recognise and respond to a variety of natural and pathological effects of aging. It goes therefore without saying that sanctuaries should be prepared and able to cater for the support needs of our aging friends. This blogpost tries to provide a practical guide for the care of aging birds.

27/12/202427/12/2024

Happy New Year 2025

Thank You Message

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you all for your incredible support of Corvid Isle Sanctuary. Your generosity and kindness have made a profound difference in the lives of the corvids and other wildlife we care for.

Thanks to your donations, encouragement and belief in our mission, we have been able to provide a safe haven where these intelligent and extraordinary creatures can thrive. Your support helps us to offer them the love, nourishment and sanctuary they deserve.

Every gift and every kind word reminds us that we are not alone in this mission. Together, we are creating a world where all sentient beings are valued, respected and protected.

Thank you for standing with us and for being a part of the Corvid Isle Sanctuary family. We could not do this without you.

06/12/202406/12/2024

Feral Pigeons Marcus and Ysabeau

Introducing Corvid Isle Sanctuary Residents

Feral Pigeon Marcus

Marcus has been rescued by us in December 2018. We found him on the road side after being injured by a car. At the time Marcus was very poorly with signs of marked starvation and dehydration. He did suffer a severe concussion and a beak fracture, which resulted in a mild cross beak deformity. Despite all odds Marcus recovered very well and settled eventually happily into our pigeon community. The beak fracture healed well too, but a slight scissor beak remained. Marcus adapted to this slight impairment without bigger problems.

23/11/202423/11/2024

Hooded Crow Jon Snow

Introducing Corvid Isle Sanctuary Residents

Jon Snow is an adult hooded crow. He came to us just recently in June 2024. Jon Snow is a wild local crow and the male partner of a local territory holding pair residing not far from our sanctuary. Jon Snow was most likely hit by a car on a single track road close to where we live. By chance, our neighbour discovered Jon Snow on the verge of the road and tried to secure him. Unfortunately, Jon Snow managed to escape despite being injured, bleeding and flightless. He disappeared and went into hiding into our local woods.

We thoroughly searched the area several times. However, we were unable to locate him. We knew that due to his severe injuries he might not survive for very long. At this time we could only hope that we would have a chance to catch him in time. Having said that, we were also certain that Jon Snow would stay in the area, nearby his family, which did visit us every morning to collect their food share from our wild bird feeders.