Raptor Rescue

In 2007 Gentleshaw joined Raptor rescue, a nation wide organization dedicated to treating injured wild birds of prey. Following an inspection of our facilities Gentleshaw has now become a Raptor rescue approved rehabilitator. As well as this Gentleshaw has also taken over the running of Raptor rescues national helpline.
    A first contact for members of the public who find injured wild birds of prey. Gentleshaw then tries to find the nearest sanctuary of rehabilitator to help the bird in need. To date we have taken over 360 calls, from as far a field as France.
    The helpline certainly keeps us busy but also means we can help more birds of prey. Raptor rescue itself is a charity and relies on donations and membership fees to run. Anyone can join. Check out their website at http://www.raptorrescue.org.uk/ if you are interested either in their work or if you would like to join.

The Hospitals Work

      Gentleshaw bird of prey hospital takes in sick or injured birds of prey. The casualties come from vets and members of the public. The aim is to treat the casualty and to rehabilitate it as soon as possible. Following treatment and providing a full recovery has been made the bird is released back into the wild. The wild birds must have only minimum contact with humans in order for them to stay 'wild'. If a bird is in the hospital for any length of time, a process known as hacking is required to ensure the bird is fit and capable of hunting before returning to the wild.

Birds of prey are brought into the hospital for many different reasons. Broken wings and legs are the most common, usually caused by the bird being hit by a car, birds of prey have little sense of road safety.

We also get birds in which have flown into windows, become tangled in netting or wire, are starving or have fallen from nests. Sadly many of the so called 'orphans' we get into the hospital were actually perfectly healthy and safe. Many species of owl are excellent climbers, even when very young. They will scrabble up and down trees and even when on the ground are often still cared for by their parents. These chicks are found by well meaning people, who thinking the chick has been abandoned, pick it up and bring it in to us.
    This then presents us with the mammoth task of rearing the chick without it having contact with its new human parents. This can be done using foster owls or a hand puppet, so as not to allow the owl to associate food with humans, (a process which is known as imprinting, which is NOT something you wish to happen), this would make the task of training the bird how to remain "wild" much, much harder.

We will hopefully soon be receiving new hospital cages with special sliding partitions which will allow us to move the birds into an empty cage without the need for contact whilst we clean out the cages. This will help in reducing human interaction even more, not to mention make it safer for the staff, (if no less smelly and messy!) Our aim, should we be able to raise the funds, is to extend the hospital considerably in order to create an 'isolation ward' whilst still allowing us an area to do our day to day health work on both our own birds and those we rescue.

We are extremely lucky in that we have several vets who treat the wild birds of prey for free. Their help is invaluable. When a bird is taken in it is important to take the details of the person who found the bird. This is not only legally required but is also needed so that the bird can be released back into the area it came from. Some species of raptor can be very territorial and will not be at all happy if put back into the wrong area.

If you find an injured bird of prey, pick it up with a towel or jumper, being very careful as their talons are very powerful and sharp. Place the bird in a secure, dark box. DO NOT attempt to feed the bird or give it water, this can cause the bird to become even more stressed and will lower its chances of survival. Unless you happen to have dead rats or mice in your kitchen it is unlikely you will have the correct food anyway. (No..birds of prey do not eat tinned pet food!). As soon as possible contact a sanctuary or animal hospital which can cater for a bird of prey, hopefully they will do the rest to ensure the bird receives any treatment it may require.