With the lovely sunny weather that is with us and the days starting to get longer, June is the month to be up at 5am and enjoy the bird song! The males sing to attract females, to claim territories and warn other males away. They start just before sunrise and continue for several hours. It is a wonderful sound and really worth getting out of bed that early to hear it. With warmer temperatures, food sources become abundant, and broods of young will be far more successful.
Tawny owls start to breed earlier which is why we already have Tawny owlets. These owlets are very nosey and can often fall out of their trees. They do have the ability to climb back up the tree using their talons, but ours were taken to a vet surgery and kept overnight so it was too late to get them back. We did get a call out to 2 Tawny owlets last week. One of our Wildlife Carers, Dan, went out and found them on the ground but the parent bird was calling to them, so Dan just put them up on a branch and they were soon being told off for being too adventurous!
Tawny Owlet
Another nest of blackbirds was found in a tree that was being cut down. It is actually illegal to disturb nests in trees and hedges after February which is part of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, but accidents do happen. These chicks are doing well and will soon be out in aviaries once feeding themselves.
Our night-time calls increase at this time of year, but the charity Secret World Wildlife Rescue (SWWR) is only able to work from 8am – 8pm because of lone working regulations. A lot of animals do get themselves into trouble during the night so there is a voluntary group called Wildlife and Badger Care that takes over during the night. It will give advice and either collect injured casualties or accept them into the farmhouse ready to be given over to SWWR in the morning. Both Secret World and Wildlife and Badger Care are always looking for volunteers to collect animals, day or night, so if you would like to help, I have given the number below. During the day at Secret World, you can always do a shift with the Wildlife Ambulance collecting wildlife casualties or picking up animals at vets that have already been treated. Enjoy your summer!
Secret World Wildlife Rescue 8am – 8pm 01278 783250
Wildlife and Badger Care 8pm – 8am 07954036687