To rehabilitate means to restore to a proper condition and situation. Each year the Trust receives in excess of 100 wild birds of prey which, for whatever reason (usually a brush with mankind), cannot fend for themselves. The Trust, together with specialist veterinary surgeons, attempts to restore them to top physical condition and then release them back into their original territory.

Injured Birds

The symptoms or injuries of the individual birds themselves dictate the course of treatment to be given. This can range from multiple fractures requiring complex (and expensive!) surgery from the vet and followed by weeks of rebuilding strength and fitness, to simply providing a dazed bird with good food and warmth for a short time before release. All releasable birds convalesce in one of our network of rehabilitation aviaries until such time as we are as sure as we can be that they are 100% fit for release.

Trust policy on non-releasable birds is to have them put down immediately and humanely by a qualified vet. Maintaining permanently disabled wild birds in captivity is not an acceptable practice as it places undue stress on them. The exception to this is in the case of sensitive species where valuable research or breeding programs can be instituted, under conditions causing least stress to the birds

"Orphans"

In 1996 the Trust released, or 'hacked back' 52 baby birds of prey which had been picked up, correctly or otherwise, and handed in to us by the public and the RSPCA. This may not seem a large number until understanding the amount of time and effort which has to go into every release in the hacking back process.

Hacking back is a procedure followed whereby orphans, and adult birds which cannot be released back into their original territory, are released into a new area from a hack box. For the first few days the birds are enclosed in the box but they are able to see out of a plastic mesh front so as to familiarize themselves with the surrounding terrain. The front is then removed so that the birds can explore but we continue to provide food. Food is placed in the box daily until such time as it is no longer being taken and the birds are hunting for themselves. In adult birds this process can take a couple of weeks, but with very young birds it can be anything up to 10-12 weeks.

Each release site is carefully surveyed before a hack box is put in place, and we prefer them to be well away from the public.

All birds of prey received by the Trust are treated according to their needs regardless of cost or species involved. This means that the rehabilitation part of our work takes up a large proportion of our annual income and we are always grateful for any donation, large or small.