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... 15th January 2026 The photo of Errol was taken last Thursday morning, it was bitterly cold and he didn’t even want to open his eyes to say hello.  We were joking that they were perhaps frozen shut.  The big pond froze over, and the swans had to be moved out for a couple of days.  Thank goodness it is now a bit milder.     Continuing the New Year look back, as reported last week the trust helped a total of 114 mammals and 364 birds, an increase on 2024 when we admitted 166 mammals and 276 birds.  This number is not spread evenly across the year, with most of the admissions from April through September.  As you would expect, this ties in with the breeding season for young birds and mammals and at the peak, something new was coming in on most days taking our aviaries close to capacity.  At the start of the year, there was a kestrel on site which had been with us since the summer and, of course, the hedgehogs.  The shed was full and there were a large number inside amounting to around 60, many more than the 37 that we have this winter.  January was a very cold month and the wildlife had to cope with storm Eoiwin; quite a few birds were admitted in its wake: three pigeons, two buzzards and a tawny owl became residents.   February and March, on the other hand, were fairly mild and we were able to release the kestrel in March, it had taken many months for its feathers to fully fill out and it was great to see it go on its way.  The quarter also saw a further four barn owls come through the doors. In April, we began to release the hedgehogs continuing through into May.  One of these was the albino that we had from a baby.  It had grown into a lovely big hog despite causing some concerns early on whilst we better understood its special needs, particularly being kept in a darker environment.  We also had the Houdini hedgehog that somehow managed to escape from its hutch in the big room during the night and took the Thursday team quite a long time to find before it was assigned to an outside hutch ready to go on its way.  This month also featured tawny owls with three coming in.  Firstly, there was one that arrived all wet having fallen into dirty water that refused to have a bath to clean its feathers and get rid of the smell.  It was quite angry after its ordeal but flying well so quickly released.  Secondly, an adult tawny came in that had been caught on barbed wire.  It recovered and was later released.  And thirdly, a young tawny came in whose mother and younger sibling had died and we were able to release it fully grown in the autumn. In May we had a lot of ducklings to cope with, two groups of ten with their mothers that we luckily managed to guide safely from their nesting area down to water, and a group of six mallard ducklings that came in as tiny balls and rapidly grew to a healthy set of ducks which were released in early July.  June marked the start of herring gull season with 32 in this month alone.  This year we invested in some big pens to help us separate the gulls into manageable groups.  We were also able to buy some new incubators for the youngest chicks which proved invaluable thanks to donations from our kind supporters. Gill Powell 8th January 2026 The start of the new calendar year, when the Rollo Centre is relatively quiet, feels like a good time to look back across the past twelve months and report on how many animals we have been able to help, remembering that we couldn’t have done it without the generous donations of both time and money given by all our supporters, volunteers and staff. During 2025, we admitted a total of 114 mammals and 364 birds. This is quite a different spread to the previous year when we admitted 166 mammals and 276 birds, and up by 34 in total.  Birds seemed to have got into more trouble this year.  Of course, not all of this number were with us for longer term care.  Some just needed a few nights rest and recuperation, whilst a number were in too poor health to survive for long.  Looking first at the mammals, by far the largest category was the hedgehogs of which we took in 100, this is down from 158 the previous year and is noticeable at the Rollo Centre this winter: we currently have only 37 whereas last year the shed was full.  We also took in one stoat, seven rabbit kits, two leverets, a hare and two mice!  Turning to the birds, it was a busier year in terms of swans with eleven admissions compared to only two in 2024.  Three of those are still with us, they are fully grown and starting to turn whiter.   The biggest category was the herring gulls and there were even more brought in this year than last, with a grand total of 134 coming through the door, up from 127.  This year we purchased some new “playpens” to house them in that made them easier to care for, we could isolate them when they first arrived to check their health, and they were easier to clean.  Pigeons and dove numbers were also well up on the previous year with 70 compared to 50 in 2024.  Many were squabs or juveniles that needed hand rearing until they could pick up their own grain, at which point we had to show some tough love by backing off to “rewild” them ready for release.  There were also 53 garden birds of different varieties and some game birds including two woodcocks.  Sadly, only one of the woodcocks survived, it was with us for a short time while we treated it for a sore eye where it had been clipped by a car.  They don’t cope well in captivity, so it was good it made a quick recovery.  This, for me, was the most interesting admission of the year, I had never seen one before and it was very striking.  And finally, the other bird category which saw an increase this year, and that we have written about across the months, was the raptors up to 31 from 21 which included 20 owls: 14 barn owls and six tawnies.  Is your New Year Resolution to do some volunteering, or to spend less time on your phone, or to try something new?  Then how about volunteering at the Rollo Centre?  We need new volunteers and now is a good time to join when it’s quieter and there is time to learn the ropes before the busy summer period.  Seeing the animals and birds recover and get released is really heartwarming.  If this is something you would like to try, give us a call and come in for a trial, what have you got to lose? Happy New Year to all. Gill Powell 31st December 2025 Firstly this week I must open with the sad news that our Treasurer, Derek Roughton died just before Christmas. He was a real gentleman. He was so kind and generous to everyone he met. He always enjoyed selling the raffle tickets with Terry when we had Open Days or other events. The photo this week shows him modelling a fisherman’s jersey and hat knitted by his late wife, Mavis. We shall all miss his weekly visits to The David Rollo Centre to pick up paperwork and join us for tea and biscuits. Rest in Peace Derek. Now another year has ended, we must thank all the very generous people who have helped us during 2025. Firstly all our amazing volunteers and staff who turn out, wind, rain, or shine to scrub, hose, and help us feed the animals and birds in our care. Not only that, they help with Open Days and outside events. We need more volunteers, so, if you feel that you would like to join us please ring and find out how you can help. When the daily round of cleaning and feeding is done, there is a tea or coffee and a chocolate biscuit on offer as well as time to have a chat with everyone. When we arrive first thing and all the cages are mucky and there is a rather unpleasant aroma around, it seems a daunting task. Three volunteers as well as Jackie or Barbara to keep a check on the daily task list and after a couple of hours its all done. The washing machine busy with the towels and fleeces from the small hedgehogs. Time then for a coffee break. It does feel really good when the work done and the cages are all clean, of course, it all has to be done again the next day. Which is why we need more volunteers. We must also thank the folk who call in on a regular basis to bring us boxes of food, bags of bird seed, lettuces, towels and newspapers. We are very happy to receive gifts like this it saves us the expense of buying them. Thank you also to Ford’s the Bakers for saving all the brown bread and rolls for us. When we have swans, ducks etc. in, cubed bread adds to their diet of grain, lettuce and grass. We have three Cygnets that will be with us until the spring so this is very useful free food for the birds. A special thank you here to Brian, who is a brilliant volunteer. He cuts up the bread which we keep in the freezer till needed and also looks after the garden, as well as keeping the grassed aviaries clean and tidy. All the new casualties arriving at the Centre are checked over and if we have any concerns they are taken to Galedin Veterinary Practice on the Ramparts estate, so we don’t have far to take them. All the staff are very helpful and the Vets all help us where they can. If an animal or bird can be saved we are happy to do all the necessary treatment to get it back to health so the Vets are essential to us. Many thanks. Thank you too to Direct Pets who are going to help us out with a wish list of items they stock, so that people can buy them  for donations to us. A lot of people like to give something rather than make a cash donation. As the shop is close by it is very handy for us. We also have been at events held by Direct Pets to help with promotion. We would like to wish everyone a Happy and Peaceful New Year. Pat Goff