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VISITOR NUMBER
SINCE 11th APRIL
2006
Website Design by:
Michelle Arnold
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Welcome to Swan Lifeline |
BREAKING NEWS
22/05/06 - Further to the swans that
died flying into a cable by a field at Brimpton, West
Berkshire, (see News Item dated 6 April 2006) Swan
Lifeline contacted the electricity company that owned
the cable, and asked them to fix some high visibility
discs to the cable, in order that swans would see and
avoid them. Happily this was done quite quickly, and
hopefully we will not have such problems in this field
again. The crops in the field are now too high for swans
to land, but we should see the benefit after harvest and
into next spring. Many thanks to Southern Electricity
for their prompt action.
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30/04/06 - Would
that the angling close season was still mandatory. We
have had birds tackled with very large lures, which have
treble hooks at the front and rear. One breeding cob at
Harefield Marina had four of the six hooks in one foot.
Whilst capturing the bird, a fifth one found its way
into the trouser seam of the rescuer, fortunately not
going any further. The swan was released back to its
water on the same day after treating the wounds and
giving antibiotics at Cuckoo Weir. The lure was hinged,
in two pieces, and about four inches long by three
inches across. An even bigger imitation fish lure, about
9 inches long not including massive treble hooks, was
removed on 29 April from another swan, in the marina by
Reading. This has damaged the bill, near the nostrils,
caused a wound in the right wing, and damaged the right
web, and the swan has had to be admitted. Not bad for
one lure. The sad fact in both these rescues is that no
way had the tackle been discarded, and snagged by the
swan at a later time. The nature of the lures, and the
injuries point to the birds being snagged by an angler,
who in each case simply walked quietly away, leaving the
swans in such a state. Both stretches of water are
publicly fished, ie not under angling clubs, which
normally run a tighter ship.
On 29 April, a
small unexploded WWII bomb was unearthed during work in
the field adjacent to Cuckoo Weir. We very quickly had
loads of police securing the access and closing the
Windsor Relief Road so that an Army Bomb Disposal Unit
could deal with it. The bomb was deemed to be too
unstable to be moved, so was detonated in the field,
some 250 yards away from the SLL buildings, which shook!
Fortunately all was achieved safely and without damage,
and we were able to continue work. The birds were not
bothered by the short sharp bang. It's never dull at
Cuckoo Weir
Those who watch television on
Saturday evenings may be interested to know that next
Saturday, 6 May, will show an episode of 'Ultimate
Force', featuring various fictional SAS adventures. This
episode, although supposedly in Latin America, features
some action in inflatable craft. These shots were in
fact filmed last summer in the rainforests of East
Cuckoo Weir Island. Take a look to see if any swans have
sneaked past the editor! You may even recognise someone
in one of the boats! Look at the green boat laden with
fruit, and take a close look at the guy in the yellow
t-shirt and red shorts.
06/04/06 - We are
in the process of upgrading a room in the Treatment
Centre to Operating Theatre standard, so that Paul can
do our operations on-site, thus saving the birds the
trauma of transport to and from Alma vets, coming out of
the anaesthetic in a pen in the ICU part of the Centre.
At time of writing, a small number of operations have
already taken place, and all agree it is a success.
Nesting time is with us, and we have a pair
trying to nest on the Island. Unfortunately things are
not going well. They have tried two sites, and laid eggs
in both of them, but the sites are also attractive to
foxes, who so far have made off with all the eggs laid.
Hopefully the swans will learn from this next year,
although we havent yet given up hope of having our own
cygnets raised at Cuckoo Weir.
We recently had a
tragic week where two swans were killed and two more
seriously injured in the same field in West Berkshire,
near the Kennet and Avon Canal. A flock of swans were
being attracted by some newly sprouted corn, and between
thirty and forty of them landed here every morning,
Unfortunately there is a thick electricity cable about
15 feet high, right in the landing path. The birds can't
see the cable as they are above it when they land. One
bird was killed instantly, another had to be put to
sleep, and one of the other injured birds had severe
burn damage to the head and neck. Hopefully the spring
has provided more feeding opportunities, as there has
been a two week respite from calls about accidents in
this field.
09/03/06 - Swan Lifeline have
been closely monitoring the Avian Flu situation in
Europe. The Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust (WWT) have
released some useful
information related to this.
02/03/06 - Spring's
newsletter has arrived!.
19/12/05 - We
have started a new scheme called "Support a Cygnet". Read
More
14/12/05 - Welcome to the new and
improved website for our charity, Swan Lifeline. The
website has been designed and administered by an
ex-volunteer, Michelle Arnold. So if you have any
comments or suggestions please by all means email our
webmaster. Her email address can be found on the
'contact us' page.
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