Latest News "Swan Notes" News items written by Trust members and appearing regularly in "The Berwick Advertiser" and "The Berwickshire News",  two newspapers covering the Berwick and Borders areas. For those unable to read these items, and those living outside the Berwick  area, here are the last few editions.. 2nd February 2012 This week we have been able to release four of the eight swans currently in our care. They love to  bathe as soon as they are in nice fresh water but the one in the photograph this week enjoyed really  stretching its wings. It is last years Cygnet and although it is still quite grey on its back and the top of  its wings the lovely new white feathers underneath can be seen in the picture. The other swans with us are still in need of a little bit longer being monitored before they can go.  One swan which came from Eyemouth after being becoming oiled and grazing a leg is doing well. It  needs another week or so to recover but after its wash in fairy liquid last week is looking very good. Fortunately we get very few swans in now that become oiled and need washing so we made the most  of this one and gathered some of the newer volunteers that had not been involved in this job before  and gave a lesson in swan laundering. After a nice long wash in a bath of nice warm water, fairy liquid is worked through the feathers to  remove the oil. Two or three people can help with this part of the task but the rinse process needs only two. One person to sit on a high  old bar stool with the wet soapy swan on their lap, the other takes the shower spray on its firm setting and thoroughly hoses the  feathers working from tip to quill to make sure all the detergent it removed. Once the water beads on the feathers the bird is  waterproofed again. A swan is a large bird and this process takes a long time. Since John had an awful cold I said I would sit and hold the bird. I wear glasses  so after ten minutes or so I can see very little, the water runs up the sleeves of the waterproof jacket and I am wet.  Once the bird is  ‘proofed’ it is towelled lightly and put in a nice clean pen with a heater to allow it to dry they soon preen all the water out. I just went  home very wet and cold! The volunteers unanimously decided they would not mind doing it in the summer when we work outside but  they all now have a good idea of what to do. Graham took photos but I haven’t seen him since to use one this week but will perhaps use  it next time.  The Barn Owl that was caught in a fence is slowly improving. When we are in the room it lies almost flat but when I went to the shed to  show a new volunteer round the little devil was sitting bolt upright on its log as if it was perfectly well. We are very pleased because now  it is beginning to sway its head and hiss in a typical Barn Owl threatening way. This week we trapped a new volunteer, Martin, he is young, keen and assures me he can run. That is all we needed to know! Those of us that go to call outs are all getting slower. So welcome aboard Martin. If you are youngish, and relatively fit and don’t mind getting wet,  dirty and sometimes a bit smelly please contact us you will be very welcome to join us.    We are getting the fencing done on the site and this is making a nice muddy mess but will be well worth it once it is done and then at  least the fence wont keep falling down in the wind. Pat Goff 26th January 2012 Eyemouth swan, a hero, and good news for the Trust Let me first of all reassure Eyemouth readers that the young swan that was sitting on  the slipway at the top of the harbour last Thursday is perfectly all right. I noticed at 10  am that it was covered in oil but had no swan pole with me and it would have just  slipped into the harbour if I had approached it. I rang Dick and he went to check it out  on his way into work. By that time the bird was off the slipway and on the road where  Dick was able to grab hold of it quite easily. By this time several calls had come in and  David and Kay were prepared for Dick's call to collect it. They arrived at the shed while I  was still there discussing Trust business with our Treasurer, Derek. Pat rang round our  volunteers and amongst us we instructed new volunteers and got the swan washed on  Friday morning. As I write this on Monday the swan is looking great and will be released  once it's feathers regain their waterproofing. My photo this week was taken by a swan rescue volunteer in Chester le Street, Den  Lilley, and shows a member of the public, Malcolm Lormor, up to his neck in icy water  just before Christmas. Our volunteers and the fire brigade were in attendance at Hetton  Lyons Country Park in County Durham and the fire brigade said they had no means of  reaching the swan and left the scene, whereupon Malcolm waded through the ice and  brought the swan out of the water and handed it over to Linda Charlton to deal with. Unfortunately the poor bird died later, but I think  Malcolm deserves a medal for braving the icy waters.  For some time we had wondered why the grass outside our fence never seemed to get cut unless we did it ourselves. I wondered if  perhaps we owned it but the previous owners had simply failed to include this narrow triangle within the perimeter fence. Trying to find  detailed plans of our land holding proved to be almost impossible until some time in July last year one of the many people I spoke to at  Northumberland County Council came up with a plan showing land owned by the Council shaded in red. This awkward bit of sloping land  was shaded red. Now I had something to get my teeth into. In August I wrote a letter to the Council, asking if there was any possibility  of us acquiring this plot of land. A lady came up to see exactly what land I was talking about and then at the beginning of December I  was contacted by James Clare, a council surveyor. My file had landed on his desk; how could he help? On 6 December he came up and  inspected the site. I showed him round our facilities and explained to what use we would put the extra land and how there was now some urgency as our existing fence was suffering from storm damage and if we were to move our boundary we didn't want to waste money on  repairs in the fence's present position. Since then James has cut through red tape like nobody's business and in the past few weeks we  have been informed that legal processes are under way to transfer the land to us. This will not be without cost. We are looking at a total bill for new metal fence posts and all costs incurred in the acquisition of the  freehold in the region of £10,000. Thankfully we have a very good treasurer who has been careful with our money and we have enough  in our contingency fund to go ahead with this project. That is not to say that we will not need support to replace our reserves as we  never know when something major will crop up. The main reason we need more grassland is that young cygnets and ducklings really  need to be on grass to thrive and grow up fit and healthy. We think this expenditure will be a good investment for the future work of the  Trust and would ask you to visit our website, click on “How to help us” then scroll down to “Make a donation”. No writing of cheques or  buying postage stamps; you will find that giving us a donation has never been easier. While on our website, take the time to look around. Terry, our volunteer webmaster, has re-vamped the site and it looks quite posh now. By the time I speak to you again I am hoping the new fence will be in place and Brian, our volunteer groundsman/gardener will be  putting his own mark on the extra land. If anyone will have any shrubs or cuttings in the Spring that will be useful for providing a bit of  shelter inside the new fence, please get in touch; Brian likes to keep busy. BARRIE MORTIMER  19th January 2012 Mild weather leading to a few surprises  Typical that just when I decide to write about the effect the mild weather is having we have a wee cold snap!  However that isn't going to put me off  as if the rest of the winter is anything to go by this cold weather will not last for long and the plants and animals will continue to be affected by the  unseasonably mild weather. In my job as manager for a local biological records centre I get to hear about all sorts of wildlife sightings that would not normally cause a raised  eyebrow, were it not for the fact that we are supposed to be in the depths of winter.  The centre that I manage is currently carrying out a hedgehog  survey of the Lothians and Borders and we have had quite a few records of hedgehogs being seen around about Christmas and New Year time.  They  are supposed to be hibernating at this time of year and, although they are occasionally active during winter, there seems to be a higher number than  usual out and about.  I have even seen one myself.  Unfortunately it was a dead one at the side of the road just after Christmas.  I could tell that it  had only recently died and had not been there for long.  Quite a few of the hedgehogs that have been seen seem to have been on the small side so if  they are not able to find enough food then they may find it difficult to survive the winter, especially if the mild weather is followed by cold snaps such  as what we are having just now.  The Berwick Swan and Wildlife Trust has had quite a few late born, therefore underweight, hedgehogs in our care  over this winter and this seems to be quite common across the UK this winter.  It is not only hedgehogs that have been putting in an unusual appearance.  We have had to care for a turtle dove that suffered a broken leg after  flying into a window just before Christmas.  Although Christmas time and turtle doves go hand in hand (think Twelve Days of Christmas) they are a  summer visitor to the UK so are not usually found here during the winter.  The dove has now recovered but we will continue to care for it until there is  more food around. We have also had other young animals to care for, such as a young barn owl that now has its adult plumage but we will again keep in our care until  spring.  It is amazing that after such a harsh winter last year that lead to so many barn owls dying of hunger that the 2011 breeding season has been  so long that barn owl numbers are doing quite well.  As well as birds and mammals I have heard reports of butterflies and bumblebees being seen on the wing.  In fact we had a small tortoiseshell  butterfly in our house just before Christmas.  It may have been hibernating in our house somewhere but it is usually spring before they become  active again and start flying around.  Plants are putting in an early appearance too.  A colleague at work told me that they had seen ransoms, or you may know it as wild garlic, in flower  last weekend.  I certainly cannot remember seeing spring flowers out that early in the year.  Plant and animals putting in unseasonal appearances is not just an excuse for me to write a column about how strange it all is.  As I said early  hedgehogs may find it tough getting through the winter if they are under weight.  As wildlife that we don't normally see until spring is out and about  then it might be an idea to put food out for them.  If you put food out for hedgehogs then it might make all the difference in helping them through  the winter, especially if they have been born late in the season and are underweight.  Graeme Wilson