Welcome to the new blog for Secret World. Each week we will take you behind the scenes of our site, letting you know what has been happening during the week.

This week the weather has been very temperamental, one moment it’s gloriously sunny and you think Spring is on the way, and the next you are caught in a sudden downpour as you run from one porta cabin to another! This has been especially trying for our builders who have been out in all weathers. Our site has been undergoing some essential building work on new aviaries and pens ready for the influx of orphaned badger and fox cubs and fledglings we are expecting any time from now.

The animal carers have been busy as usual, treating the wide variety of animals we see through our doors every day. This included a beautiful tawny owl that received a glancing blow from a car and suffered head injuries. She was left sitting at the side of the road and was very lucky not to have been more seriously hurt. She is currently in an incubator as she is in a state of shock, but she is expected to make a full recovery. It will then be important for us to get her back to where she came from as she is probably ready to start nesting.

One thing we all love here is when animals recover and we can release them. This week we saw two of our swans heading home. It is always a funny sight seeing the swans being taken for release as we carry them in Ikea bags. It may seem an odd choice, but they are really good for keeping the birds calm and stopping them from flapping their wings around as they are moved. Seeing them being released into the wild makes everything we do worthwhile. We wish them lots of luck!

While we have success stories every day we also unfortunately have to deal with loss too. We were all sad to lose a fox overnight that despite everyone’s best efforts was just too ill to survive. We give every animal that comes through our doors the best possible chance of survival but this doesn’t always work out and when we lose any animal it affects us all.

Ending on a happier note this week our resident foxes had their annual vet check and vaccinations.  Megan, Mia and April live at Secret World because they were reared by people wanting them as pets. They now cannot be released as they are too tame. Thankfully all three foxes were given a clean bill of health and were soon back scampering around their enclosure.