Meeting Place For People Interested In Corvids
Magpie Chiara came to us in May 2017 as a juvenile bird after being injured by an unsupervised domestic cat. Chiara managed to escape and was found the next day hiding in a greenhouse. She suffered an extensive fracture of her right wing and a severe injury to her right eye.
Rook Brambles came to us as an adult bird in May 2013. We have rescued him in a somewhat daring and quite prickly rescue from a cliff, where he was trapped in a large hedge of brambles, hence his name. Brambles arrived at our sanctuary in shock with a bleeding compound fracture of his left wing caused by a shotgun injury.
Brambles had been intentionally shot and left to suffer by a person with an antisocial personality disorder obviously lacking any empathy and respect towards the suffering of sentient beings. This particular person did act illegally and unethically by clearly showing his or her disregard for the law by hunting on a public path causing a sentient being to suffer unnecessarily.
Colin came to us in March 2017, after we have been contacted for help and advice by his kind-hearted rescuer. It turned out that Colin was an imprinted unreleasable carrion crow born in spring 2016. He was found as an injured orphaned nestling on the ground after a severe storm, and has been subsequently raised by his own without the company of his own kind.
Imprinting in wild birds is a critical and essential learning process that occurs during a sensitive period shortly after hatching. During this time, a young bird forms a strong attachment to the first moving object it sees, which is usually his or her parent. Interestingly, this attachment helps the bird learn essential survival behaviours, such as recognising its species, following the parent and learning specific feeding techniques.
Rook fledgling Malcolm arrived in our sanctuary in June 2018. We took over his care from another wildlife rescue, which asked us for advice and help. Malcolm did not thrive and develop as expected, became very poorly and quite distressingly did not stop to call for his parents and siblings.
Our admission assessment revealed that Malcolm was blind, and therefore struggled to find his place in this new strange noisy human world of a wildlife rescue. Our veterinary surgeon confirmed that for reasons unknown Malcolm has suffered an almost complete retina detachment in both eyes. Over time we figured out that Malcolm can recognise light, but not more than that. This also explained his constant calling, as Malcolm struggled to adapt to his situation. He was simply frightened, and completely and utterly confused.
Continue reading “Rook Malcolm”
Pan Tau came to us as a fledgling carrion crow in early June 2014 via our local veterinary surgery. He has been rescued by a kind person from the roadside after being hit by a car. He was found lying on his side and being unable to use neither wings nor legs. His rescuer cared for him for a week but became progressively concerned as Pan Tau did not make any progress. At that point in time the rescuer contacted the local veterinary surgery and asked for help. He insisted that Pan Tau should not be put to sleep and rather being given a second chance.
So we agreed to take over Pan Tau’s care. At our admission assessment we could not find any fractures or obvious injuries. However, Pan Tau’s legs were not able to support his own weight. Both feet were curled up in a spastic fashion, which forced him to sit on his hock joints. He was unable to stand up or to use his wings in a coordinated way, which made it also difficult for him to keep himself upright. Pan Tau was otherwise fully alert and responsive. His neurological symptoms, which were caused by a concussion and a spinal trauma, had only marginally improved since he was found. This was a very concerning situation in terms of his longterm recovery prospects. Chances of a recovery are often rather slim when no noticeable neurological improvement can be observed within a fortnight.
