Latest News Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Sadly bird flu is now moving on from sea birds, to other species of birds, including geese, ducks and swans, and the Trust is receiving many calls from the public spotting sick birds. There is no treatment available and sick birds will often die within a day of showing symptoms. We cannot rescue or accept sick birds at the Centre as this would compromise those birds already in our care and could lead to the Centre being forced to shut down. Our advice, painful as it is to give, is to leave the bird and let nature take its course. Do not touch a dead bird or let a dog near it. The local Council is responsible for collecting them in a controlled manner. In some cases you may report findings to DEFRA on 03459 335577 or visit their web site for detailed advice here. *************************** "Swan Notes" News items written by Trust members and volunteers and usually appearing in the “Berwick Advertiser" newspaper each week. For those unable to read these items, and those living outside the Berwick area, here are the last few editions... 4th December 2025 The two Muskovy ducks that came into the Rollo Centre as ducklings in mid-September were released this week.  When the siblings came in, they both had one bad leg – one the left and one the right - which we thought was probably why they had been abandoned by their family.  Fortunately, they were able to grow out of these injuries whilst in our care and are now fit and healthy large birds.  As they are quite tame, we thought carefully about the best place for them to go and are pleased to have found them a new semi-wild home.  They have a shelter to go into at night, lots of land and a pond, where a kind landowner will keep an eye on them until they have settled in.  They will be free to fly on to pastures new if they wish, or to remain in this spot.  We will miss them at the Centre as they were a nice couple of youngsters to watch growing up.  With them leaving, it means that there are not many birds remaining with us over the winter.  The two wood pigeon youngsters, who featured in the picture last week, are ready to be released and will go somewhere with supplementary feeding to get them through their first winter.  This leaves the barn owl, which is flying well now, and the three cygnets.  The cygnets will definitely remain with us until the spring as, whilst one or two are stronger and starting to stretch their wings, they need to be released together so they can support each other to find their own territory on the river. There are currently just over 30 hedgehogs at the Centre, the majority are too small to hibernate and are inside the warmer rooms. There are a number in the colder big room that are starting to sleep intermittently, missing getting up some days but then getting up to eat on others.  This is a frustrating phase as food can get wasted, but if they are sleeping it means a bit less work cleaning their huts!   And finally, there are now four hedgehogs hibernating outside in the big shed.  They went to sleep during the cold spell and have not woken up during the milder days this week.  A few people have enquired about whether they should still be feeding the hedgehogs or whether they will now all be hibernating, and our advice is to keep feeding them for a little longer as there are still some awake in the wild with the weather having been so unpredictable.  People also ask how they can be sure that it is a hedgehog they are feeding and not another type of mammal, the answer is that you can’t really, although hedgehogs do tend to turn their saucers over and create a mess, whilst other animals might not. We would like to thank everybody that came to the Guildhall Christmas Fair on Saturday and visited our tables.  Despite the awful wet weather, a lot of people turned out to support the various charities and to visit Santa.  Our tombola proved really successful, so a big thank you for all the great prizes that were donated.  Amongst the many lovely craft items that were made for us to sell this year, we received some little knitted “pigs in blankets” which were a great festive play on words and sold out quickly for stocking fillers.  We have also recently received a number of items donated via our Amazon wishlist and this too is greatly appreciated. Gill Powell 27th November 2025 This year, as well as the many owls, we have had a significant number of pigeons into the Rollo Centre: wood pigeons, feral pigeons and doves.  They have come in steadily throughout the year with a range of ages from abandoned youngsters needing hand feeding, to adults just needing time to grow new feathers and put on weight.  Pigeons can be quite divisive, a bit like gulls and Marmite – some people love them and others not so much, particularly when they gather in large numbers in city squares which they do right across the world.  Hopefully, after reading the jottings this week, there will be a few more that appreciate them. Pigeons are intelligent birds and in studies were discovered to be able to recognise themselves in a mirror which very few species can do, and they can recognise people by their facial features - which perhaps explains why they seem to bond with certain members of staff at the Rollo Centre, although this may also be related to who provides the food!  Academic research has proved they can also recognise the difference between a Monet painting and a Picasso, and more impressive still, in America, some were also trained to learn biopsy slides and identify cancerous tumours with high accuracy. Pigeons have an incredible sense of direction called “homing” and they can find their way back to their nests from thousands of miles away travelling very swiftly at 50-90 mph.  Nobody knows exactly how they do this; some think they have an inbuilt type of compass that relates to the angle of the sun, others think they may use the earth’s magnetic field and others suggest maybe infrasound where they listen to the noises of the earth that humans aren’t able to hear.  This mysterious skill led to them being used as deliverers of mail as far back as the Egyptians 10,000 years ago.  The Egyptians gradually trained them by taking them further distances from home and watching them return to base.  Pigeons were used more recently as vital messengers during the two world wars that saved many lives; 32 of them were recognised with the Dickin medal, an award often called the animals’ Victoria Cross for devotion to duty.  Only 75 medals been given out in total. Pigeons mate for life and are inseparable, often seen being “lovey-dovey” on rooftops.  The male tries hard when trying to attract a mate, strutting and marching about.  Once they have got to know each other they will mate and build a nest.  Both the male and female incubate the eggs with the young taking up to two months to leave the nest, waiting until they appear pretty much full grown.  Wood pigeons are the largest pigeon in the UK and they have spread from being woodland birds to being found in fields, parks and gardens.  The nests they build are flimsy twig nests, usually in trees but also on ledges or the ground.  After the storm earlier this autumn, a number of young came in as their nests had fallen down.  There are still two youngsters at the Rollo Centre, they are currently being rewilded with staff are under strict instructions not to interact with them to break any bonds to humans.  So, to sum up, pigeons are gentle, skilled, intelligent and loyal.  Doves, particularly white ones, are the recognised symbol of peace and love.  They are all vegans and unlikely to contribute to global warming.  What’s not to like? Look forward to seeing you in the Guildhall on Saturday at the Marie Curie Fair. Gill Powell 20th November 2025 We had a very unusual visitor this week when a Woodcock was brought in. It had an injury to its right eye, It was taken up to the Vet to check on the best treatment.  Ointment applied to the eye several times a day was the result. These birds do not do well in captivity. It can be difficult providing the right environment for them and obtaining the sort of food they eat. Giant mealworms fitted the bill together with normal sized ones put in leaf litter. We were happy to release it as soon as the eye looked better. After a day or two he was very lively and tricky to catch get the ointment in his eye. After four days of treatment he was looking fit so he was released. Our two young Barn Owls have been released back to the box where we think they were hatched. They are going to be supplementary fed for a week or so to help them on their way. We have one other Barn Owl with us. He has been waiting for new feathers to grow after he lost quite a lot in an accident. They are beginning to come in now, and he can fly. We are moving him up to the Big Flight now that the babies have been released. He will need a few weeks to build up his strength but he is an adult bird so knows his way around in the wild. We have also released two pigeons that came in as nestlings, and another one that had an injured wing and has been building up strength again for quite a few weeks. We still have two youngsters nearly ready to go and another two with missing feathers that will be here a while waiting for new plumage. Last week we had thirty hedgehogs this week we have thirty four. Gill worked hard at our Christmas Fair on Saturday and found sponsors for thirteen of them. More are looking for sponsors so just ring the Rollo Centre on 01289 302882 and check the details. Hedgehogs are coming in all the time, if you see one out during the day it probably needs help so please bring it in to us. Many at this time will be too small to hibernate and will die if not offered a helping hand. We have also had another Cygnet brought in. It is not in very good condition and cannot stand at the moment. We will have to see what a few days rest will do to help it. Gill will keep you up to date with the comings and goings at the Centre as I shall be off for a few weeks. Our Christmas Fair which was held at the Berwick Baptist Church went very well. Everyone heading for the tombola stall first, then to the wine or water. The raffle also sold lots of tickets and I was lucky enough to win one of the prizes which I never normally do. We had some lovely crafts available too. Super bobble hats with hedgehogs on the front, sold quite well I think. We had home made soup, filled rolls and mince pies and there was lots of chatter and laughter around the coffee table so everyone seemed to have a good time. I must thank Jackie and the volunteer team who worked so hard to organise it all. Jackie is preparing for another event at the Guildhall on Saturday 29th November when she and Mandy are having a table at the Marie Curie Fair. Do go along and see what we have on the stall. Pat Goff