Nottingham RSPB
local group

An Owling Success

Andrew, Jan and I set off early on the morning of November 2nd. We were going to visit Stuart in his new hideaway, Lake Vyrnwy. All the way through England the sun shone, but as we crossed the Welsh border it began to rain and the nearer to Stuart we got, the heavier the rain fell. As we stopped outside the RSPB's cottage it was a real downpour and it became obvious our trip around Lake V was a no go. So after a brief conference we decided to head for Gigrin Farm, the Kite feeding station near Rhayader.

It was only an hour 'down the road' but that did not allow for Stuart's navigating, it took over two hours to get there. But the trip was worth it, when the feeding started we saw at least 46 Kites in the air, along with Buzzards and Ravens. These last two species sitting outside the hide eating while the Kites swooped down and took the meat without landing. A really good experience and one we hope to repeat soon when the weather is better. After this Andrew had to drive Stuart back before we could start the journey back to Nottingham, he had expected to be back home between 7.30 and 8 but already we were running late. Of course by the time we dropped Stuart off it was dark, but the journey back had only taken just over an hour. So after a quick hot drink Andrew was behind the wheel again and heading home, or so we thought.

Somewhere along the way we had taken a wrong turn, and roadsides are not that numerous in this part of Wales. After a time we approached a strange sounding village and realised we were heading north instead of west. So Andrew turned the car around and headed back the way we had come. A short time later the headlights picked up something in the road, Andrew drove around it and backed up so we could see it again. It was a Tawny Owl! It quite clearly was in trouble and was unable to fly, so we got out and Andrew caught the bird in Jan's waterproof coat. Apart from hopping to the side of the road it put up no resistance and we put it in the back of the car (on Jan's knee). We then had to drive a short distance to get a signal for our mobile 'phones and when we could Andrew rang Stuart for advice, this was to dry the bird out and put it somewhere sheltered. This we did, I knew my arab scarf would come in useful one day. But when we tried to put the bird out of the rain behind a tree it did not want to go, it would not put its feet down and clearly was in need of help. So we wrapped it in my scarf and put it back on Jan's knee. Some how in all the excitement we had got back onto the road to Shrewsbury and stopped at the first service station for Andrew to fill the car up, he had used a lot more diesel than expected. While he attended to this I went inside to see if I could get a box to put the Owl in. The girl I asked left the job she was doing and started making the best Owl box that was possible out of a cardboard crisp box. Others on the staff heard of the birds plight and came over to ask about it. Until all the staff were around us and the customers were left to their own devices. Then someone told us of an animal hospital nearby, and someone else said they lived near there and they would take the bird, but the manger put his foot down and said he would call out the RSPCA. So the Owl was put in it's box, still wrapped in my scarf and left for the RSPCA to pick up.

And that should have been the end of the story but we could not rest, all of us wanted to know how it had got on. Did it survive the night? Was it waterlogged as we thought or had something else happened to it? The only thing we had to go on was the fact the animal hospital was near Shrewsbury. So I went onto the internet to try and find its address, no luck, I 'phoned our local RSPCA and they put me onto their national line who gave me a number for their Shrewsbury animal hospital. But it would not be open and it closed Wednesdays, this did not sound hopeful, if their opening times were so limited what were the chances of them coming out to pick up an injured bird on an awful night. Days later I finally got through to them, no they did not have any Owls, after some badgering I finally got them to give me a number of a nearby wildlife sanctuary. I tried 'phoning them, but no answer, I decided later in the afternoon to have one last try. A lady answered, I asked about any Owls being brought to her on the second of November, but she had no birds in that day. She did however have two Tawny Owls in and when I mentioned 'ours' would have been wrapped in a red and white arab scarf, she knew right away one of them was it. It had been delivered by an RSPCA inspector on the third, and she remembered now the inspector saying it had been kept overnight as the pick up had been late. It was alive and well and feeding itself, in fact it was doing so well that she planned to fly it on a tether and if there were no problems she would release it in a few days.

She asked me about the pick up point the one reported by the RSPCA was miles from where we had originally found the bird. So we spent the next twenty minutes or so pouring over maps and pinpointing the exact spot, because she wanted to release it there. As soon as I was off the 'phone I told Jan and Andrew what I had found out and they were as elated as I was.

Not only had we been party to saving a wild bird, we had come across people who cared as much if not more than we did.

Many thanks to the staff at the Shrewsbury Service Station and the Cuan House Wildlife Rescue.

Footnote:
The Owl flew well on the tether and if all goes to plan it will be released on Friday (15th November)