Gower Bird Hospital

Our bird unit has now finally been refurbished! A big thank you to the RSPCA who have taken up the slack whilst we have been out of commission. Here we go, the fledglings and nestlings are already making use of the new facilities......

Gower Bird Hospital has worked for many years with the members of Animal Welfare Network for Wales to bring about codes of practice for animal welfare establishments, domestic and wild.

During the autumn, as the nights become longer, hedgehogs come out earlier in the evening to feed and are more easily noticed by people. If the weather is mild, hedgehogs may not need to hibernate until November or even December. Many nocturnal hedgehogs going about their normal routines are scooped up by well-meaning people who think they should be hibernating. This has become such a problem that the British Hedgehog Preservation Society has issued new guidelines for rescui...ng hedgehogs in the autumn based on scientific research: Hedgehog Hibernation Weight – A Collaborative View. You can read the full guide lines at their website, but the main points are:
“If a hedgehog is out in daylight hours it should be brought into care regardless of weight and will need veterinary attention.
If a hedgehog is nocturnal, “rescue” at 500g+ is unnecessary at any time of the year.
Rescue at weights above 600g is counterproductive and strongly discouraged. Bringing a healthy hedgehog into rescue is stressful for the hedgehog, stress can compromise the immune system and parasite burdens are amplified causing serious problems for the animal.”
You can help by putting extra food out for them in the evenings. Meat based cat or dog food (dry or tinned) is an excellent food for hedgehogs – a shallow dish of drinking water is also very important.
See More

If you are involved in wildlife rehabilitation as a practitioner or as a veterinary professional or simply just interested there's something for everyone. Come and meet like minded people and enjoy!

Please don't cut down trees and cut back hedges during the bird breeding season. If you want to avoid the distress of displacing a nest of babies like these goldfinches, please leave any major cutting back now until the autumn. Thank you.

We are absolutely delighted that Country Stores in Church Street Gowerton is supporting Gower Bird Hospital. The owners, Brian and Alison, are running a charity shop on the upstairs floor and have donated a fabulous £500 to Gower Bird Hospital! The shop is lovely – not just clothes and books but also very good quality furniture, soft furnishings, jewellery and lots more. Pop in and grab a bargain!

If you’re a practicing wildlife rehabilitator - a student interested in wildlife disease, biology and or ecology, not to mention welfare, or just simply curious -get yourselves there!

A huge thank you to Swansea University Conservation Ecology Society who raised an amazing £200 for Gower Bird Hospital selling homemade cakes to hungry students and staff! Thank you so much ladies - those cakes look delicious! We'd wish you luck with your exams, but you're obviously self motivated and hard working so we're sure you'll be successful in anything you do.

The second hedgehog trapped in the cattle grid is okay and is being released tonight back at Reynoldston. This male has been marked red middle, which means he's got red coloured sleeves on 10 of his spines in the middle of his back. They should last about 3 years. The first hedgehog was marked blue middle. If you see any hedgehogs out and about at night in Reynoldston, shine a torch briefly down on them and see if it's one of these guys!

We were called out last week to a cattle grid in Reynoldston, where a hedgehog had become trapped. The hedgehog had been there for at least two days. The ramp that allows small mammals to escape had failed because the holes made in the grid walls are too small for adult hedgehogs to pass through to get to it. The hedgehog could not be pulled out because the spines were acting like barbs against the concrete in the hole, pulling the hedgehog backwards made them grip more and t...he hole tapered like a lobster pot so going forward was no option either. We managed to get him out by passing a thin plastic ruler in through the other side of the hole which collapsed the spines enabling the hedgehog to be pulled out backwards. we are grateful to the resident who spotted the hedgehog and also to the girl who went home to fetch her ruler. There were bones in the cattle grid belonging to a previous hedgehog who was not so lucky. This male hedgehog made a good recovery and has now been released. We are meeting the council at the site to see what can be done to make this cattle grid safer for hedgehogs.
See More

This is Simon repairing and upgrading the Closed Circuit Television System (CCTV) in all our aviaries ready for the busy season. Not an easy task - his expression says it all!!

During spring and summer around 600 nestlings and fledglings are brought to Gower Bird Hospital. For the last 20 years our first fledgling of the year has always been a blackbird. This years fledgling number one is a robin! It had been caught by a cat, luckily no major wounds and feeding well now. 1. Please be careful if you are cutting hedges as many birds have already built their nests and are feeding youngsters. 2. If possible keep your cats in overnight during the breeding season. 3. If you find a fledgling in your garden please leave them alone as the parents will be close by. 4. Please do not attempt to rear them yourself. Please contact us or your nearest wildlife rehabilitator.

We were delighted to see these two hedgehogs in the Gower Bird Hospital garden at about 11pm on 14th February. They were both in very good condition at over 800g each. We were even more pleased when we scanned them for microchips and found they were both previous patients. The male was courting the female - hedgehog courtship involves a lot of huffing and puffing noises and the male circling the female. (We don’t know if she was impressed!) The male was found trapped in a pi...t on Sandy Lane in May last year. He was cold and starving but recovered well and was released two weeks later. The female was a youngster from Pennard found in October 2014. She was very weak and flies had already started lying eggs on her but she also made a good recovery and was released in March 2015. The female had travelled at least half a mile from Pennard down to Sandy Lane but that’s not unusual. Hedgehogs can travel an area of around 20 football pitches looking for food.
See More

We support the raising of standards and the advancement of animal welfare through regulation.

Every autumn Gower Bird Hospital changes from a bird hospital to a hedgehog hospital as hedgehogs outnumber our bird patients! Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. A curled up hedgehog in the open in daylight is not hibernating, it is simply too ill or injured to make it back to its nest. Even those that appear lively and are running around need specialist help. If you see a hedgehog out in the day at any time of year it will be in trouble. IF YOU SEE A HEDGEHOG OUT IN DAYLIGHT ...HOURS OR NEED ADVICE PLEASE CONTACT US. Many people think that all hedgehogs hibernate in October but hibernation is dependent on many factors, including weather conditions. If we have a very mild autumn, hedgehogs may not hibernate until November or even December. As the weather gets colder, the hedgehog’s natural food supply of beetles, worms etc. becomes more difficult to find. Hedgehogs born late in the year may struggle to find enough food and not gain enough weight to enter or survive hibernation. You can help by putting extra food out for them in the evenings. Please don’t put cow’s milk out as hedgehogs can’t digest it properly. Meat based cat or dog food (dry or tinned) is an excellent food for hedgehogs – a shallow dish of drinking water is also very important.
See More

these wonderful people do fantastic work caring for injured wildlife could not be without people like this. thank you you are the best

xxxxxxxx

What wonderful, Kind and caring people <3 I could not recommend highly enough. Thank you for everything you do x

We took are little Baby Hedgehog AKA Tiny Tim to Gower Bird Hospital due to him being out in the daytime and only weighing in at 250g.

We were very pleased to hear that when he is big enough he can come back home

Thank you Gower Bird Hospital

We took a injured hedgehog there on Saturday but unfortunately he had to be put too sleep the staff there were very caring and thoughtful on his welfare and they let us know how he was and would like too thank them

Very nice people told us all about their activities, filled in form so they can let us know when (Henry) the hedgehog is ready for repatriation. Road to it was quite an experience having to dodge cows and pot holes

Very helpful and compassionate people.

Took a very ill young pigeon to them yesterday. The lady was very caring toward him when I handed him over and also when I phoned later to check how he was. Unfortunately he was too far gone and passed away. It's good to know there's people to help wildlife in need. Have made a small donation in honour of the little pigeon that didn't make it to help other birds.

Took a barn owl there today. What a fantasic place. Hope he is ok. Hopefully if he pulls through I will be able to release him for them. Fingers crossed.

Took a 5 week old baby hedgehog there this morning. Very helpful and pleased that I picked him up to give him a chance. Thank you.

Today I paid my second visit to the Gower Bird Hospital within the last six weeks, this time with an injured green woodpecker. Why not consider making a modest donation to this not-for -profit organisation. They do sterling work with birds, hedgehogs and other animals brought to their premises at Sandy Lane.

This is a very worthwhile charity to support. The staff all work extremely hard & are so dedicated. I have been with this charity since the beginning & have proudly watched it grow. Well Done Karen, Simon & ALL who help them.

They took in a young blackbird this morning i do hope she is ok�

These people are amazing x genuinly care x seagull last week hedgehog today lol

Thanks for taking the baby collared-dove, and to rspca for collecting/delivery as I had no transport. Donated 20.00 to each charity - thank you!

Our dog found & destroyed a nest of young Hedgehogs. The mother abandoned them & Gower Bird Hospital took the five tiny prickly balls in. 6 weeks later three of them were returned to be released. Sadly two didn't make it but the ones that did looked healthy & big. I still see them at night foraging around the garden. Thank you for looking after them Simon & co. Great work you are doing, cheers :-)

I spoke to a very helpful lady on the weekend about a hedgehog I had found with a damaged leg. She signposted me to ensure the hedgehog got the best possible treatment and it arrived safely to you. I was just wondering how he/she is doing? (From Bridgend, arrived Sunday in the smaller box and arrived with another hedgehog) �

I am a supporter - & I grateful for all the hard work they do caring for injured or sick wildlife. If you find a wild bird or animal in distress give them a call and they will advise you what to do for the best

Found an injured bat Took it to the hospital

Very caring told me they would let you know how he gets on and hopefully we will be able to release him back into the Area

Always helps animals not only birds ....a fab place