Swan Jottings, News and Events
Our Latest Swan Jottings...
Welcome to Swan Jottings, the newsletter from the Berwick Swan and Wildlife Trust, and usually appearing in the Berwick Advertiser each week.
News items are written by our Trust members and volunteers, where we share updates, stories, and news from our work with swans and other wildlife.
Whether you’ve supported us for years or are just getting to know us, we hope this introduction encourages you to join us in protecting local wildlife.
For those unable to read these items, and those living outside the Berwick area, here are the last few editions:
The picture this week shows a super new device to help hold pigeons, especially young ones, we are having to hand feed or needing to medicate. The blue plastic device...
This week these five young tawny owls were released. I will miss them as they were lovely birds, often sitting in a row on the high perch looking down on...
At last we are seeing the youngsters from this year beginning to leave and start their new lives in the wild. During the next two weeks we are expecting to...
This week saw the release of two birds: the buzzard and the kestrel. The buzzard came in on the 12th August so was only with us for a relatively short...
Firstly thanks to everyone that helped us at our Open Day on Saturday. Ian and Mike, together with anyone else around on the day, did a lovely job of making...
This Sparrow Hawk was sitting quietly out of sight behind the hedges in the grounds of the Rollo Centre, but it caught my eye after I’d cleaned out the kestrel...
This spring and summer has been the busiest we have ever had. We had to stop taking any more young Herring Gulls in as we had nowhere to put them....
This week, one of our new arrivals was a cygnet, the first of the year. It was spotted by some nature lovers who had initially called to ask if we...
Just like all wildlife rehabilitation centres we are working flat out at the moment. In all the years I have been volunteering, I have never known us to be this...
There have been an awful lot of ducklings at the Rollo Centre so far this year. You may remember that we released a dozen mallards a couple of weeks ago...
The important news this week is about Gull Chicks. We have had to stop temporarily, taking in Gull Chicks that have fallen from their nesting sites. We currently have over...
The Rollo Centre is once again becoming the “Herring Gull Centre” with over forty of the young birds in our care when I was there on Thursday, and with more...
This week the picture shows our five Tawny owlets. They are from different sites but are all about the same age. They have now moved up to the Big Flight...
We are now at the time of the longest days of the year. All the wildlife is making the most of the long summer days. We have swallows at home...
The spring breeding season is in full swing as I’m sure you will have seen in your gardens. On Thursday, when I was helping at the Rollo Centre, it was...
The first little Herring Gull Chick arrived in last week. Just in time for our Open Day. Surprisingly, he is still on his own, although I expect the heavy rain...
Firstly, a huge thank you to all the visitors who attended our open day last Saturday and to all those who kindly donated gifts, handmade crafts, money, or their time....
It always seems that every month we seem to get more of the same type of bird or animal arriving for care. May has been the month of Owls. We...
In the last two articles, Pat has put a call out for more volunteers so I thought I would write about my shift last Thursday to see if it inspires...
This week Jackie and Barbara Have been busy boxing up and handing back hedgehogs that have been with us through the winter. It is just as well that they are...
The picture this week shows a hedgehog leaving being waved on it’s way by Jackie and Barbara. Many thanks to volunteer Izzy who did the drawing. When hedgehogs leave us...
This is the season when one of our fastest land mammals, the brown hare, can be more frequently seen around the countryside and we are lucky enough to have a...
The picture this week shows our three overwintering cygnets bagged and ready to go to the river. They sat in their bags in the back of Dick’s car to enjoy...
Thank you to everyone that supported the sale on Easter Saturday despite the stormy weather. There were some lovely gift and craft items donated that looked nice and bright on...
Firstly this week, I must apologise to Jackie and Mandy as I got the date wrong for their Table Top Sale. I think Gill copied my date in her notes...
The hedgehogs are nearly all awake now and as they wake up they are having their bedding changed, getting weighed and having their photos taken. If you were kind enough...
A few more releases have been made in the last week or so. After the Barn Owls we released some Wood Pigeons and Feral pigeons. This has allowed Jackie to...
The two barn owls were released last week as we had hoped they would be. The video of the first release is on Facebook and shows the owl heading off...
The milder weather in the last week meant that most of the hedgehogs were awake when I did my shift last Thursday. As we try not to disturb them when...
It seems like spring is on its way at last! I was working with Kay on Sunday morning in the Hedgehog Shed and noticed that the hedgehogs are beginning to...
We are working to get our 2027 calendar to the printer so that they will be ready nice and early this year. We try to do this every year but...
How lovely it has been to see the blue sky and the sun for a couple of days. It seems weeks since we had a nice bright morning, instead of...
The picture this week shows the swan that is on the beach at Eyemouth. Hopefully, if the weather calms down a little, it will decide to move further along the...
Meet Us At Our Events!
If you live locally or are visiting the area, come to see us at our Swan House Open Day or events we attend (e.g. BARK pet show, Spittal Seaside Festival), where you can have a go on the tombola, or see our range of gifts and clothing for sale. You can also have a chat and find out more about us!
We will be at the RNLI Eyemouth Lifeboat Gala Day from 12pm-5pm
Wildlife Events For Your Diary
