Starlight Trust

If I told a story of a swan injured by human carelessness and callousness, separated from her mate and left disabled, quite rightly, the vast majority of people would react with horror.
Pigeons, like swans, mate for life and form devoted partnerships, even mourning each other’s loss. There is absolutely no difference in the level of physical and emotional suffering experienced by both birds. But we are so arrogant we actually think our view of an animal in our society change...
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A lovely load of wishlist goodies we collected from Shuri recently.
Thank you to Beckett for the readigrass, Charlotte and Paul for seed, Donna for the slides and lava ledge, and to everyone else who sent gifts anonymously. All very much appreciated :)

We are, once again, out of space for resident pigeons. In fact, we are over full with several recent admissions looking like they'll need a permanent home. We desperately need more sites for aviaries. Please share our appeal so we can continue to help disabled pigeons. Thanks x

Delighted to say that this evenings vet appointment went better than we'd hoped.
Both patients had their procedures done tonight as we waited. Antoine had a little bit more of his leg removed in order to remove the necrotic bone which would otherwise have caused a painful infection. It looks so much better and he'll soon be much more comfortable as well. Bubbles had a very thorough tooth trim and her mouth is barely recognisable. She'll need this repeated regularly but there'...s even a chance that the issue could correct itself after a few treatments.
Given Bubbles' age and ongoing needs, we've decided that she will stay here with us so that she doesn't have to go through more change and so that we can ensure she gets the best possible veterinary care.
Our vets are very kind and have done some excellent work for us tonight at a very reasonable rate - £155 for two consultations, two sedations and two procedures. Of course, we are reliant on donations to meet these costs though so if anyone would like to help out with their bill, please visit starlighttrust.org.uk/donate Thanks x
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Also off to the vet tomorrow is Antoine. It's a bit of a gruesome tail but at some point the poor chap has had a broken leg and the blood supply was compromised which led to the bottom half of his leg dying and falling off. However, he's been left with a piece of bone poking out of the stump which is uncomfortable and will be very prone to infection. So we're hoping our vets will be able to tidy his stump up for him. He's a big, strong lad who seems to cope very well with one leg so we're hoping he'll still be releasable.

Please welcome Bubbles
She has come to us this evening as she has some medical needs which her family were a bit overwhelmed by.
Her upper incisors are misaligned and over-growing. If you look at her right cheek you can see one of them poking out. Although her teeth were trimmed a few weeks ago, they've already grown to the point where she is struggling to eat. She's had some baby food from a syringe tonight which she seemed to appreciate.
... She's off to our specialist vet tomorrow evening to see what the best course of action is for her. Her teeth are at quite an angle and she's about two years old so my concern is that there might be a reason such as a tumour causing her teeth to be off. We'll need to have a considered conversation with the vet about what is right and fair.
Please keep her in your thoughts. She's a very sweet little girl.
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This little cutie is Perky. He was spotted on Friday in Marylebone looking unwell. It's a good job his finder was astute as we found Perky is terribly thin and suffering from coccidiosis. Happily, Perky is very bright and curious and seems quite oblivious to the fact that he isn't well. He isn't eating for himself yet but he's taking syringe feeds well and putting on a little weight. He's a delight to care for <3

I'm delighted to say that after many, many hours of work, the transferring of all the directory listings on helpwildlife.co.uk to the new format is complete :D 🥳👏
The new tool we've added will enable rescues to add and update their own listings which, hopefully, will save us a lot of time and, more importantly, ensure the listings are as up to date as possible so people finding wildlife casualties can find help fast.
You can view the new directory search at https://helpwildli...fe.co.uk/rescue-dire ctory/map/
I want to take this opportunity to thank those who chipped in to help get this work done. All help is very much appreciated but I want to give a special mention to the lovely Penny Spokes who has been helping us maintain the directory for a few years now and who has put in an enormous number of hours over the last few weeks helping me get this done. She really has been a superstar 😍💪
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This little cutie is Patricia who has come to us today from Tooting where she was seen wandering around unable to fly.
She's only a youngster and excruciatingly thin. I suspect when I check her poop I'll find lots of parasites are causing her issues.
For now, she was very happy to see her bowls of food and water <3

I posted just over a week ago to say that the quick solution we'd hoped for to transferring our helpwildlife directory listings into the new improved format unfortunately hadn't paid of and appealing for volunteers to help us get this done.
Big thanks to the half a dozen people who came forward and who have, between them, now transferred a little over half the live listings over. This is great progress in such a short amount of time!
I am, however, conscious that those poor, ...industrious souls must be getting RSI by now so we'd still really appreciate some extra helpers. The site is creaking and the old map keeps going on strike so we really want to get this done quick. If you can help with this not difficult but admittedly not very exciting work, please drop an email to sarah@starlighttrust.org.uk
Thanks :)
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Some of our cupboards are looking a little bare. If anyone would like to send something from our wishlist, we're in pretty dire need of - blue tissue - pigeon seed - aubiose Thank you x

We can often tell whether a pigeon is male or female by their behaviour and vocalisations. Generally, the girls grump a bit when we get them out of the box to be cleaned and the boys sound off when they get back in - a performance I think loosely translates as "you're lucky you're putting me back now cos I was just about to end you!".
Anyway, Blitzen, I think, makes a particularly pretty noise when he's threatening my life <3

Three pigeons back to the wild today :D Ramon and Luke were two of the pigeons who came from Paul's when there was a PMV outbreak. Calzone I am particularly delighted to see free. He has been here since August and arrived with a really swollen wing so I wasn't sure he would fly again let alone be released. He also battled recurrent parasite issues. Here are some beautiful pictures of them (and some other past friends) enjoying their freedom, courtesy of Paul :)

River was found grounded in a school yesterday. He chose just the right school too, so Louise's son, Leo, was able to step in and make sure his Mummy was called to come save the bird <3
River has myco which causes eye and respiratory infections. He's quite thin so I think, when I check his poops, we'll probably find he has some parasite issues as well. Hopefully he'll be looking happier soon!

Our second new guest of 2019 is Cassie. She had been visiting Paul's garden and showing signs of PMV for a few weeks but managed to evade capture. She's bright and feisty so hopefully just needs a few weeks boarding while she fights the virus.

These are the pigeons receiving treatment at Starlight HQ at the beginning of 2019

We hoped there might be a clever solution to enable the directory listings on helpwildlife.co.uk to be moved into the new format quickly but sadly it hasn't worked out. So we are back to needing helpers with this please. Spring will be here in no time and this update is an essential part of making sure visitors can find help with sick and injured wildlife quickly. If you can help, even if it's just with a small number of listings, please get in touch ASAP. Thanks :)

Our first new friend of 2019 is Aero. He was found in Knightsbridge struggling to fly on New Year's Day. He's very thin and has some neurological symptoms so we're quarantining him in case of Pmv. He isn't much appreciating our hospitality at the moment and is rather stressed but hopefully he'll realise soon that we're trying to help.

You're doing an amazing job guys. Thanks for all you do.

We found a injured baby pigeon on our dog walk & this lovely trust took him in & nursed him back to health! amazing work! ���

We adopted Andi as a companion for our lone rat Boo and were told she was nervous and a bit bitey. It was a few weeks before we could pick her up as we were going on holiday and in those few weeks starlight trust did an amazing job of turning a nervous bitey rat into a cheeky little girl who greets me in the morning and happily climbs onto my shoulder. Also they were so helpful in doing the intro between Boo and Andi. Thank you Sarah

These guys are amazing. When I found a baby pigeon whom it turned out seriously injured they came out, picked her up and made sure she got to the right people to do with her injuries.



I couldn't ask for more. I also got an update the Pigeon too. I am seriously awed. And the volunteer I met (Louise) we friendly, kind, and educating. I'm in awe.

Thankyou all so very much, I put an SOS on pigeon rescue and protection as I was so far from home and could not leave this lovely pigeon alone, she needed cuddles and was so poorly.... rapid response with messages from Louise and then Paul collecting the now named Annie and then lovely updates once she was in your wonderful rescue... I cannot thank you all enough for the care and love given to these lovely birds xx she is quite a star on my facebook page xx

Thank you so much to volunteer Louise Gale for taking on and treating a poorly pigeon I came across outside my building in London. I am not sure what I would have done otherwise! And thank you to Sarah, who I hear will be taking over in helping him in his long road to recovery! Will spread the word on the amazing Starlight Trust!

So impressed by the ethos of the Starlight trust - every life matters..... they were there to offer support and help with a "special needs" feral pigeon....and were literally a lifeline.Absolutely brilliant !!

Found a little baby pigeon discarded in a plastic bag on top of a bin, Louise from Starlight got in touch straight away when I put out an SOS. She even arranged a drop off for me that was nearer where I lived as I don’t drive. She’s now safe and called Petal �. Eternally grateful ��

As a regular, long time adopter, I can say that Starlight Trust are absolutely one of the best small animal rescues in the country!

Animals in need being looked after in a house full of love. We have adopted three lovely buck rats from Starlight and couldn't be happier.

Absolutely fantastic people who deal with these animals from the bottom of their hearts.

You're doing an amazing job guys. Thanks for all you do.

We found a injured baby pigeon on our dog walk & this lovely trust took him in & nursed him back to health! amazing work! ���

We adopted Andi as a companion for our lone rat Boo and were told she was nervous and a bit bitey. It was a few weeks before we could pick her up as we were going on holiday and in those few weeks starlight trust did an amazing job of turning a nervous bitey rat into a cheeky little girl who greets me in the morning and happily climbs onto my shoulder. Also they were so helpful in doing the intro between Boo and Andi. Thank you Sarah

These guys are amazing. When I found a baby pigeon whom it turned out seriously injured they came out, picked her up and made sure she got to the right people to do with her injuries.



I couldn't ask for more. I also got an update the Pigeon too. I am seriously awed. And the volunteer I met (Louise) we friendly, kind, and educating. I'm in awe.

Thankyou all so very much, I put an SOS on pigeon rescue and protection as I was so far from home and could not leave this lovely pigeon alone, she needed cuddles and was so poorly.... rapid response with messages from Louise and then Paul collecting the now named Annie and then lovely updates once she was in your wonderful rescue... I cannot thank you all enough for the care and love given to these lovely birds xx she is quite a star on my facebook page xx

Thank you so much to volunteer Louise Gale for taking on and treating a poorly pigeon I came across outside my building in London. I am not sure what I would have done otherwise! And thank you to Sarah, who I hear will be taking over in helping him in his long road to recovery! Will spread the word on the amazing Starlight Trust!

So impressed by the ethos of the Starlight trust - every life matters..... they were there to offer support and help with a "special needs" feral pigeon....and were literally a lifeline.Absolutely brilliant !!

Found a little baby pigeon discarded in a plastic bag on top of a bin, Louise from Starlight got in touch straight away when I put out an SOS. She even arranged a drop off for me that was nearer where I lived as I don’t drive. She’s now safe and called Petal �. Eternally grateful ��

As a regular, long time adopter, I can say that Starlight Trust are absolutely one of the best small animal rescues in the country!

Animals in need being looked after in a house full of love. We have adopted three lovely buck rats from Starlight and couldn't be happier.

Absolutely fantastic people who deal with these animals from the bottom of their hearts.