News for October 29th – November 9th 2007

The last couple of weeks, as always, we have been inundated with emergency rescue calls alerting us to injured swans. The main of these calls are for young swans which are just leaving home.

The week began with our volunteers attending to three swans at Ashington Lake near Newcastle. One of these swans was terribly unwell after hitting power cables and very shaky as a consequence, another with fishing line from it’s beak and another with a hook in it’s leg. We were able to remove the fishing line and hook and the scene, and the swan which hit cables was brought in for treatment.

Another young swan was collected from a Vets at Chester-le-Street after being mauled by a dog at Mowbray Park near Newcastle which was rescued by the RSPCA. This young swan received some horrendous injuries to it’s body, and required stitching back together. We hope he’ll make a steady recovery. It is vitally important that you walk your dogs on leads while around waterfowl, avoiding injuries like this and a possible conviction for not controlling your animal properly.

A swan on the Aire & Calder Canal in Leeds was found with a horrendous amount of line from it’s beak. We were able to remove the line and release him back to his waiting mate. Another young swan at Melbourne on the Pocklington Canal near York was found trapped in a disused lock. We were able to hook him out and release him back to his parents and brood mates. We responded to a call for yet another swan injured by a dog at a park in Preston. This swan sadly didn’t win her fight for life. Another call took us to the River in Lancaster for a young swan trapped in an overflow pipe after territorial fighting between another pair of swans. She was brought into care for a few days and has since been released.

We responded to a call from the RSPCA for a cygnet in Pickering which had crash landed into a back garden. The owners of the house secured the swan in their garage to ensure it was safe from any dogs and children. Another emergency call from the RSPCA landed us at Scarborough Mere for a swan with a damaged foot. While we were rescuing this swan, we spotted another with a large fishing hook in his neck, which we quickly removed. A swan with a broken leg was also rescued from Manchester after landing on a road and then hit by a car. And another swan was collected from Pateley Bridge with terrible burns after hitting cables.

Yet another call for a swan with a damaged wing came in from Cleethorpes Country Park. We located the swan and found his with a dislocated shoulder. His mate was also found with a terrible limp to her left leg, and on closer inspection we found some tight fishing line around her leg. Both were brought into care for treatment and are making a good recovery. Another swan from Scunthorpe was observed not eating for three days, so we were called and managed to rescue the bird. Leaving behind her six cygnets and mate, we rushed her straight to our vets for treatment. A large amount of vegetation and fishing hook were removed from her neck. After a few days recovery, we were able to return the swan back to her rightful place. Another swan at Market Weighton was also treated after suffering with a fishing hook in it’s leg.

More broken wings (it’s that time of year!), after a swan hit a lamppost at Parkgate in Rotherham. We rushed to collect the swan, and after an X-Ray found the tip of his wing to be broken. Johanna our Vet has used a splint to keep the wing in the correct position, which is then bandaged to the body. This will remain like this for 4-6 weeks where it is hoped the bird will be able to fly once more. Another young swan was rescued from the RSPB Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve after flying into overhead power cables. This was a very nasty break, but Johanna has once again managed to save the wing by using pins by external fixation. It is hoped that this swan too will make a full recovery. Another cygnet was not so lucky when he was rescued near Selby. A kind landowner found him under a powerline and took him home into a stable to contact us. We collected the swan, but sadly he didn’t make the night. Another call for a swan with a broken wing took us to Hempholme near Hornsea. We were unable to locate the swan even after launching our rescue boat and searching until 6pm. We responded also to a swan at Lincoln with a broken leg, and another swan at Hornsea Mere, again with a broken wing. This swan was very unlucky after it’s wing was caught by a rope attached to a boat and was left struggling for some time in distress. We hope to return both swans to their mates as soon as possible.

A call from the Highways Agency late one night took us slightly by suprise; a swan was wondering around the Motorway. This is a frequent occurrence for us, but not so much the location of the swan – Windsor, near London! We were able to pass the call on to a swan rescue centre nearby, who responded to the call instead. Two swans from South Sheilds were also found very underweight and in a poor condition, so will be treated accordingly. Another cygnet from Bishopthorpe in York had wondered into a warehouse and looked very poorly. Unfortuently he was about a quarter of his body weight and was found suffering with fishing line. He’ll be kept here until he is heavy enough for release. And a sad call was received from the fishing pond at the Corus factory in Rotherham, after rangers found one of the swans shot dead. We had only saved this birds’ life a few months previously from a fishing line related injury. Very sad. This case has been reported to the Police.

And finally, we have also cared for a poorly hedgehog from Leeds, a rabbit suffering from terrible myximitosis which had to be put to sleep, and a Canadian Goose with a terrible broken wing. And we have been able to return 20 swans back into the wild again this week, leaving us with a total number of swans in care at 41.

Thanks to all of you for your support as always.

Dan, Joe and the Swan Rescue team.

News for the Week 21st to 28th October 2007

Our work is never finished here at the Hospital. Here are just a few stories of the casualties brought to our care and attention this week.

At this time of year, a large percentage of calls are for young swans landing on roads. We begun the week called to a young swan on the road by the Humberside Police at Kilberdyke. She had received some cuts to here feet, but otherwise okay. This was soon followed by another call by a member of the Public near Derby. This swan had wondered off a small pond and was clipped by a passing car. Unfortuently the swan had died before our arrival.

A swan in Liverpool was found suffering from terrible lead poisoning. At this time of year, swans which have lead in their systems often display signs of the illness when the weather turns cold. Another swan found in this condition was discovered by our volunteers Julie and Faith. This swan had been into our care earlier in the year from Fairburn Ings near Castleford suffering from lead poisoning. She had not been seen much on the Ings throughout the Summer months, so we guessed that she had spent most of her time on the River Aire, which is where she is likely to have picked up some lead. Another swan from Carol and Linda from the North East was also brought in with lead poisoning after clipping cables. These swans will stay in our care and have daily expensive treatments until they are well enough to return back to the wild.

The actions of some careless people has resulted in several fishing related injuries. We were contacted by York Rowing Club, who had spotted a female swan with cygnets on the River Ouse with a large fishing hook through her beak. The swan was found and the hook removed, and we were able to return her back to her waiting cygnets. More problems at Newark Lock when another cygnet was found wrapped in fishing line. Again, we were able to release the swan after her ordeal.

We were contacted by a very concerned member of the public near Leicester. A whole family of nine swans were forced off their pond after it had been drained and had begun taking residence in locals’ gardens. The swans had no access to food or water, and local children had begun to take negative interest in them. Thanks to our networking with local volunteers, we were able to organise to movement of the swans to another pond where they would remain safe.

We were contacted by the RSPCA for a swan on the River Foss in York, which was tangled in some black rope. We were able to locate the swan quickly and removed the rope, allowing us to return it straight back into the wild and it’s waiting mate. Another call for help was received from the RSPCA for a swan which was taken to Goole Police Station. Fortuently the situation with the swan had been resolved before we had to take any further action.

A very sad emergency call came through this week for a cygnet which had crash landed on the M62 and Junction 37. To make matters worse, the cygnet was hit by a lorry and ripped half of it’s wing off. We were called to the scene by the Environment Agency who required our immediate help, and managed to locate the bird and part of it’s missing wing. The cygnet will be seen by our vet as soon as possible, and is on very strong painkillers and antibiotics. Another sad story hit the local news this week when two swans were found shot in Doncaster. The RSPCA are now investigating this incident, having removed the body’s.

A male swan came into care from Jenny Beecher at Pugneys Wildlife Rescue in Wakefield. He had been living on a small dyke for the past five years, and recently all the water had been drained. The swan was also suffering from swellings in both legs, so had to be brought in for treatment. We’ll let you know his progress.

At the time of writing, we are waiting for a swan to arrive from Allerton Bywater near Castleford, with a fishing hook in his neck. Sounds like a busy day at the vets tomorrow for us!

Thank you for your continued support.

Until next week… Dan, Joe and The Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital team.

News for October 2007

The last week has proved to be yet another busy week here at the Hospital, with nearly 30 new in-patients brought into our care.

At this time of year, young swans are starting to take their first flight, and land in the most strange places. The place chosen to ‘crash land’ often is in the gardens of surprised members of the public, or very busy public roads. We collected one young swan from Worksop very late one evening. Fortunately the members of the public secured the swan in a dog cage and contacted us straight away.

Another call for a swan needing our help came from an RSPCA Inspector. The swan needed collecting from Kingston Veterinary Group in Hull, having flown into power cables on her first flight. She had received some treatment at the vets, but needed to recover for a few days here at the Hospital. She is progressing well, and the wound on her wing has nearly healed.

An early morning call from the North Yorkshire Police Headquarters was received for a pair of swans on the A1 motorway near Thirsk. Police Officers were at the scene when we arrived, and the swans were running around the motorway carriages, obviously a potentially serious hazard to motorists. The traffic was stopped in both directions to allow us to capture the birds. As they were carrying rings on their legs, we were able to confirm the swans were a breeding pair from a fishing lake in Rainton. We thanked the Police for their valuable support, and returned them to their original home. On arrival to the lake, we found one of the pair’s young cygnets unable to walk correctly. We suspect he has hit something on his first flight, and subsequent blood tests have confirmed lead poisoning. He is now receiving treatment here at the Hospital, and is making a good, but slow, recovery. As reported in last weeks news, his brood mate was recently brought into the Hospital a few weeks ago suffering from several fishing hooks in his neck and a huge swelling on his neck. He is doing very well and will soon be ready for release.

An RSPCA Inspector brought us two young swans from their Bradford Animal Home. They had been caught in the same stretch of fishing line on a lake in Horbury, and had nearly died. Subsequently, they were not waterproof, and the RSPCA felt they should come in to our care to ensure they were fully waterproof before their release. One of the swans was desperately unwell, unable to stand, and very thin. We are now very pleased with their progress.

On a lighter note, we were successful in releasing ten swans back into the wild this week. Some of these birds had been with us for a long time, us having brought them back to life and down the road of recovery. They now carrying rings on their legs, so we can monitor their progress after their release. At the time of writing, we have 51 swans in our care.

Linda and Carol – our volunteers in the North East – have been very busy over the last week. They were called to a swan which has hit cables, and suffering from trauma, constantly shaking and unable to eat. Power lines are often the cause of so many injuries this time of year due to fog and mist, rendering the cables invisible to flying birds. He is making a good recovery. Linda was also called out to another swan at Killingworth Lake after becoming trapped in netting on the floating island. He was brought in to care for a few days to ensure he was okay. Another swan was found with a break on his leg, which has now been operated on; we’ll see how he recovers. While we were collecting these birds to bring down the to Hospital, an emergency call was received for a badly injured cygnet on the River Tyne in Newcastle. The swan had a broken wing and a dislocated leg. Johanna has operated on this bird and we hope he’ll pull through; we’ll let you know how he goes. While rescuing this cygnet, we came across a pair of swans on a small pond next to the River Tyne. On closer inspection, the male swan had a small barbed fishing hook through his top beak, which we were able to remove on site and release him back to his waiting mate.

Our volunteers Julie and Faith found two suffering swans over the past week. One was from Fairburn Ings, a last years youngster, who had been here at the Hospital from the North East after he was shot in the eye. This time round, he was found with a terrible injury caused by fishing line under his beak, which we call ‘chinstrap’. He had been unable to eat for sometime, as there was a huge amount of vegetation and food on the line and he was very thin. Another swan they found at Allerton Bywater near Castleford was suffering with a very large fishing hook. The hook had gone into this rather aggressive swans neck from the outside, and into it’s windpipe. Our vet Johanna spent over an hour operating on this bird, and she pulled through great.

We were contacted by the Lock Keeper at Newark, for a swan badly entangled in fishing line on the River Trent. To add to this poor birds worries, a resident pair of swans started attacking her as she lay stranded in the water. We were able to attend and free her from the fishing line. She received some terrible cuts from the line on her legs, so she has been kept for a few days to be monitored. We have seen swans in this condition before die of stress and trauma, so we always bring the birds in to care as a precaution.

Another swan from the RSPCA came into the Hospital from Knaresborough, having landed in a member of the public’s back garden. We also received a call from the North Yorkshire Police about this swan. Another swan with an injured wing came into care in need of some treatment, and was rescued by Keira, an RSPCA Animal Collection Officer. We responded to another call from the RSPCA for a swan with a suspected injured wing in York. Fortunately there was nothing wrong with this bird. The caller was concerned that the swan had lost it’s wing feathers; this is perfectly natural around this time of year, as swans shed their old wing feathers and replace them with new ones for the next year.

Another early morning call was received for a swan on Lendal Bridge in York. He was lucky enough to have no injuries, and was released back on the River Ouse with the other swans. And a swan from Brough, near Hull, was found by a caring member of the public on a road, after hitting power cables; the swan didn’t last the journey home. The next day we were called to Brough once again for a swan in a territorial battle with another pair of swans, and was brought back to the safety of the Hospital for treatment.

The RSPCA Animal Home in Bawtry, South Yorkshire was taken a young swan, again having hit cables in Doncaster. The staff decided that the swan needed further care at our Hospital, and we went to pick him up. The swan is very aggressive, and unsurprisingly so after his terrible ordeal. One of his wings is slightly damaged as he hangs it quite low, but we expect him to recover from his injuries. He has been blood tested to see what kind of lead level he has. We remain hopeful. Another young swan near Doncaster (will it ever end?!) was found outside the home of a local Vet, who secured the animal in a stable before we were contacted to collect her. This bird has a back and leg injury, and is unable to stand after landing hard on a road. Some rehabilitation, time on our ponds and some treatment will hopefully repair her as soon as possible for her release back into the wild.

A lovely barn owl came into the Hospital from Yearsley. A couple had found him on the road, clearly injured. Unfortunately the bird had a terrible break to his right wing, and was extremely thin and weak. Clearly the wing had been broken for sometime, so it was decided that the bird should be put to sleep to end it’s suffering. Such a terrible shame. A cockerel on ‘death row’ has also been brought in to accompany our hens; he was an unwanted pet and was to be killed if we didn’t take him in. We also attended to a poor badger which was hit by a vehicle near to us at Strensall, which was sadly dead on our arrival. A dazed robin came into our care for a few days, and has now been released.

Our final words must go to the generosity of our supporters. Just two of the donations received through the post over the last week were of £1000, and another of £500, after seeing our work on the ITV programme The Dales Diary. The supporters wish to remain anonymous – our sincere thanks for your help. If you wish to consider making a donation to the charity, please ensure you complete a Gift Aid form if you are a UK Taxpayer. This ensures the charity benefits as much as possible from your donation; it really makes a difference and at no extra cost to you. A special thank you to everybody who has contacted us about these injured swans.

Until next week… Dan, Joe and The Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital team.

News for August to September 2007

The last few months have been a hectic few at the Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital. To date we have dealt with a fastly approaching 1,500 swans. You will see that our website has a new look to it, we will be keeping it updated weekly to bring you all of the news on our activities dealing with sick and injured swans.

This week has been as busy as ever with us heading out across the north of England responding to calls from the RSPCA, members of the public and other wildlife rescue organisations.

We joined Linda and Carol from the North East branch of YSRH to rescue two young swans from a river near Bishop Auckland. Both were suffering from angel wing on both of their wings. Angel wing is a disorder which causes the feathers on the tip of the wing to grow in the wrong way which prevents the swan from flying. One of the swans had been shot in the face and the other had necrotic bone on her wing. Both were brought into care and will be treated and released on private lakes when they are fit and ready.

We have had several calls passed onto us from the RSPCA this week including a swan who had crashlanded on the road in Selby and one in Beverley with a damaged wing. We also responded to a call from the RSPCA for a cygnet on a fishing lake near Thirsk with a large lump in her throat. She was rushed into the vets for an x-ray and had as suspected swallowed several fishing hooks and several lengths of line. As a result the cygnet had not been able to eat for quite some time and a large ammount of vegetation had gathered around the hooks and line. She will have to stay in our care for several weeks until the wound heals and she is large enough to be released back into the wild.

We responded to an evening call from a gentleman in Nottinghamshire who keeps an eye on the family of swans on his local canal. One of the cygnets had not eaten for several days and appeared to have a wound. By the time we got there it was dark but luckily we managed to encourage the family over with some bread and catch the cygnet in question. He had to come into care as he was very underweight and did indeed have a wound which once treated with antibiotics and skincare cream has begun to heal nicely.

The most horriffic incident we have had to deal with this week was that of a cygnet on the river Ouse in York who had been shot in the head. We responded straight away to the call and located the cygnet. He was in such a sorry state with puss seeping out of his eye and a large shot wound to the back of his head, He was covered in dried blood and the wound was still bleeding, how anybody could do such a thing is totally beyond us. He was taken into our vet Johanna the following morning and was given an xray. Luckily the pellet had passed through and not lodged in the brain as initially suspected. After his operation, he has be cleaned up and given a course of medication and hopefully his condition will improve in the following weeks. The York Press, BBC Look North and Callendar News all covered this story and Dan did a live radio interview on the BBC Radio York evening show. One of our volunteers Lawrence went down to the river to check that the rest of the family the cygnet came from and thankfully they are all unharmed. Link to Original news item

We received an evening rescue call from the RSPCA for a swan with fishing line in South Kirby near Pontefract. Julie and Faith rushed down to check on the swan and while they were there discovered a female swan with fishing line as well. We were able to go down the following morning and remove the line from both swans and release them straight away.

Other animals into our care in the last week; two ducks needing a home, a suffering rabbit with myximitosis which sadly had to be put to sleep to end it’s suffering, a turkey (don’t ask!) and a Kestrel needing a short rest and some food after flying into a window. He flew away into the skies once again yesterday morning.

As we finish writing this news update we have just received a call for yet another bird in Crofton near Wakefield suffering with fishing line and recieved a further call from Linda and Carol from the North East branch of YSRH informing us that they are trying to catch a swan suspected of being shot in the face on the river Wear in County Durham. Yet again an animal is suffering due to somebodys deliberate and cruel actions…

Dan & Joe
Founders, Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital

Dan and Joe with two swans

News for May to August 2007

An ever increasing amount of swans have been brought to our attention so far in 2007; 1,197 swans to be exact. Our thanks to everybody who have alerted us to these injured birds, and to those who have made donations in order for us to continue our valuable work.

So far this year we have cared for over 100 young swans, all comming into our care suffering from injuries or abandoned and left behind by their parents. We are pleased to say that we have released more than half of this number already back into the wild, and the other cygnets are slowly growing to their released weights and sizes. Cygnets are particularly hard to raise, and as in all cases with wild animals, they are better off with their parents than being reared by humans. But one particular pair of swans took us by suprise who had come in from Straws Bridge in Derbyshire. They had been bricked by youths, resulting in the male with serious injuries including a broken wing and the female with an injury to her leg. They also had two, week old cygnets, which thankfully were uninjured and all were transported to the Hospital and the pair treated by our vet Johanna. As they slowly began their road to recovery, they also began ‘adopting’ other cygnets which came into care here; by the time they had finished they had taken eight cygnets under their wings! The whole family have now been successfully released.

Cygnets have come far and wide. We took in three young cygnets from the same family in Durham within a week after all were found suffering with fishing line. These were successfully operated on to remove the hooks from their necks. The RSPCA alerted us to a cygnet at Bransholme in East Yorkshire suffering from horrendous fishing line trailing from his beak, around his wings and cutting off the circulation to his legs. He has since made a full recovery and is now back in the wild. Two day old cygnets were brought to us by the RSPCA from Castleford, found completely without parents. And the RSPCA in Doncaster brought us a cygnet from Cusworth Hall with a massive sea fishing hook in his thigh and unable to stand; quite how a sea fishing hook arrived at Cusworth Hall is beyond any of us as fishing is banned on this site! Four tiny cygnets were collected from a vets in Chester-le-Street after their parents were shot dead, a further three arrived from Flaxby Golf Course, near Knaresborough, and another with walking difficulties from Lightwater Valley in Ripon. One lucky cygnet was found on the A19 walking down the road, no older and two weeks old. On his arrival we found fishing line hooked under his bottom beak and down his neck which was quickly removed.

As always, not a moment passes without a horror story. We received a call from the signal box at Newark Castle train station. Two very tiny cygnets were found on the level crossing. On our arrival, the conductor played us back CCTV images of to young men actually placing the cygnets on the line, prosumably so they could watch them get hit by a train. Fortuently the cygnets were retrieved before this happened and placed into the safety of a toilet before our arrival! This incident was of course reported to the Police, and the cygnets have since been released. A very unfortunate swan was found with the most horrendous infestation of leeches in his eyes. So infested, that his eyes were missing and he was in a great amount of discomfort and pain. He was finally relieved when he was put to sleep – so sad.

Two black swan cygnets came into care from Sandall Park in Doncaster with terrible lead poisoning. After weeks of treatment and even tube feeding, they have pulled through well and are now ready to be relocated to a new home. A few day old black cygnet also came into care from York University unable to walk. We have reared him here and he is now ready for release too. A Whooper swan arrived from Whitley Locks near Selby, with severe lead poisoning. Thanks to the rings on his legs, we were able to track his astonishing journey from the day he was rung at Martin Mere in Lancashire a few years ago. He has now successfully been returned to the wild and we have sighted him since his departure from the hospital.

As well as the swans, we have cared for a number of other animals this year. These include large numbers of ducklings and baby birds all of which have been returned to the wild. We attended an injured badger near Knaresborugh, which sadly had to be put to sleep. We also attended a call for an injured deer in Ripon, and have cared for a number of crows, pigeons and ducks. A kestrel which came in stunned by a car was released within a few days after a good feed.

As in 2006, we co-ordinated the rescue of the hedgehogs from the Islands of Uist once again throughout April and May, saving nearly 300 hedgehogs. This year was different, as the government agencies previously killing the hedgehogs were now handing them over to the rescue efforts in order for them to be relocated to the mainland, which is a huge victory. It was a strain running both the hedgehog centre on the Uists and the swan hospital here, but we managed well. Thank you to all of our volunteers during this busy time!

One very unfortunate swan from Fairburn Ings was unfortunate to lose it’s wing in a flying accident due to a power line. The power line had sheared his wing completely off and he was pouring with blood. We managed to rescue him in the dark at 8pm thankfully, and he was taken to Johanna for an operation. Another lovely female swan from Barnsley was rescued with us and the RSPCA with a very badly damaged wing. She has now been released onto a lake with a male swan in Beadale and have instantly paired up. And another swan from the Aire and Calder Canal in Stanley near Wakefield had a large amount of bone sticking out of the end of her wing. This was successfully operated on and she has made a full recovery. The same for a male swan found in Huddersfield which was brought into our care at the beginning on the year having been shot in the neck. This time round he received a broken wing after flying into a railway bridge over the canal. He too is now ready for release.

A poor female swan from Whitby was admitted into care a few weeks ago. Suffering from severe lead poisoing, unable to walk, stand or even eat, we kept her alive by tube feeding her numerous times per day, injecting saline fluids and countless numbers of injections. She can now walk and eat, but she has been severely effected by the poisoing, which has damaged her nervous system. She will be here with us for sometime yet, so we keep our fingers crossed for her.

A large scale oiling incident happened at Killingworth Lake near Newcastle. A local had poured gallons of unwanted vegetable oil into the water, covering many of the 60 swans that live there. Along with the RSPCA and the Berwick Swan and WIldlife Trust, we removed a large number of oiled birds which was equally split between the two centres. All of the birds involved in the oil were washed (taking many hours of our time) and then released. A family of eight swans were also rescued by us and an RSPCA Inspector from a baking factory in Leeds. A large liquid container lorry bust it’s pipes when offloading a large amount of fat, which leaked into the water and saturated the swans. They are still in our care and have required a number of washes to restore their waterproofing. We reamin hopeful that they will all pull through and will be released back to their homeland.

Further coverage in local media has led to a rise in calls. Articles appeared in the Yorkshire Post, the Gazzette and Herald, the Northern Echo, the York Evening Press and the Selby Times to name but a few. Thank you to these papers and their reporters for their time in highlighting the problems our swans are facing.

Our thanks once more must be lent to everybody who have helped us, especially our volunteers, whom we couldn’t continue to operate without.

Dan & Joe, Co-Founders

News for April 2007

We have started 2007 as we mean to go on, having treated well over 300 swans in the first few months of this year already, and the busy summer months are yet to arrive. To everybody who has alerted us to the injured swans; thank you for caring.

A sad case was brought to our attention by the RSPCA in November. A pair of swans were brought in from the Ripon Canal completely covered in vegetable oil. We were joined by our Saturday volunteers Julie and Faith to rescue the suffering pair. Having been ‘washed’ a few times with plenty of Fairy Liquid on hand and the appropriate medication administered, they are slowly responding to our hard efforts. Unfortuently the high level of lead in their blood has not helped matters, but we remain hopeful.

An urgent call from the Highways Agency and Police brought us to a pair of swans which had crash landed on the M1 motorway in early December due to high winds. It was amusing to see the warning boards over the motorways alerting drivers to the swans in the road! They were quickly caught and placed on the pond they were trying to land for.

A very late Christmas Eve found ourselves at Beeston Marina in Nottingham, trying to reach an injured cygnet which had hit lines and gone back onto the River Trent. After some careful luring with some of that magic stuff – otherwise known as bread – we managed to capture the young swan. Back at the hospital we found a number of large wounds and burns under his wings and immediately started him on antibiotics, pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs. This lucky swan responded well and has since released at Fairburn Ings at Castleford.

Another call on Christmas Day took us to the outskirts of Rotherham, to yet another cygnet with a large amount of cruel fishing line trailing from it’s beak. We successfully removed the line and he swam back to his rightful place. Thanks to the rings on his legs, we were able to confirm he was a cygnet which came into our care earlier in the Summer from Cheshire at 3 weeks old and couldn’t walk properly. We had helped him back on his feet and reared him until he was old enough to be released back in August. It was a joy to see him again, but such a shame it wasn’t in more pleasant circumstances.

A number of swans were brought to our care from a park in South Sheilds near Newcastle in a very poor condition during November. Water quality is horrendously bad and with the discontinuation of feeding by the council twice daily on the suggestion of an apparant swan expert, some of the birds were grossly underweight and wondering into the town in search for food. One of these swans which is still in our care was suffering from a horrendous high level of lead poisoning, but is making a good recovery. The swans in the North East are looked after by two truely amazing women called Linda and Carol, who have now become regular volunteers for us. With very little help from any others, they assist swans throughout the North East, and even though neither of them hold a driving licence they never turn a call for an injured swan away. Once they rescue these injured swans, the birds are then transported to us for care until release, when they are returned back to their place in the wild again in the place they orginated from in the North East.

A call from a member of the public for a male swan from the canal at Braithwaite, Doncaster was one of 10 swans treated by us in the first two days of January. His right leg was badly smashed, and was rushed to our vet Johanna for emergency treatment. As we watch and assist in all the operations Johanna carries out on the swans, we finally finished operating on the birds leg at 10pm. Because of the time she arrived home after operating on our swan, Johanna went without sleep that night in order to catch her flight to the States at 6am; we thank her for her support and dedication once more. Now with the assistance of the pins and metal work in the swans’ leg, he was able to stand as soon as he came round from the operation. The metal work stayed in his leg for a further 6 weeks, until the bone healed. We are pleased to say he has now been returned back to the wild.

Another swan from Derbyshire with a dislocated right leg has found a new sanctuary here. After his accident, he paired up very quickly with a female swan brought in a few weeks before which now only has a partial wing after a flying accident. We released them onto our large lake here at the hospital, and they really are enjoying their new home. At the time of writing, they have begun building their nest, so we hope they will successfully rear cygnets in a few weeks time; we’ll keep you posted.

A female cygnet was collected with a broken leg from Bedale in North Yorkshire. We carry injectable painkillers with us in the vehicle, in cases such as these so we can releive any pain as soon as possible. Unfortuently Johanna was away working abroad for a week, so he was transported down to the National Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton, Surrey, for emergency treatment along with a few other cygnets, a few of which only had one wing after breaking them in flying accidents. These cygnets will live out the rest of their days at Shepperton unless they find a mate and will be relocated to a private lake. We are ever thankful to Dot and Steve at the National Swan Sanctuary for all their wonderful help and support.

Unsuprisingly, more swans were found injured with air gun pellets in the last few months. All of these incidents have been reported to the Police and RSPCA, whom we work with closely. Unfortuently, still no evidence has been brought forward to try and catch the culprits. A female swan was found with two pellets in her neck at Allerton Bywater in Castleford. Another young swan which we had reared here at the hospital in the Summer was found dead by two of our volunteers at Fairburn Ings, with a pellet lodged in his head. This was joined by another at the same place with a pellet lodged in her windpipe. A large male swan was rescued and brought to our care from the workers at Far Ings Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire with a pellet in his head and neck with a lot of swelling and infection. A lone swan acting strangely was rescued from a drain at the Corus factory in Leeds, and a later x-ray revealed this has been shot in the face.

Yet another swan brought into care from the River Ouse at Rawcliffe in York was found to be suffering from 5 pellets around it’s body, one smashing the hip quite badly. It’s injuries were so severe that Johanna doubted if he would ever walk again and we may have to consider putting him to sleep. With a high level of lead in the blood, the odds were against this swan who had a mate left behind on the river, but we decided to give it a go. He is now walking well, and has recovered from his injuries and the poisoning. We hope to return him back to his mate very soon. All of the swans above were succesfully returned to the wild after the pellets were removed and the appropriate medication and care given.

We were alerted to an injured swan at Newmiller Dam in Wakefield by the Wakefield Council workers. Unfortuently the swan had received a broken wing as part of it’s injuries, which was later amputated by our vet. She has now been released on a private lake nearby with a male swan she paired up with while in care. Speaking to the owners of the lake yesterday, the female is now sitting on eggs; a fantastic result.

The RSPCA brought us a very sick swan in late January from Hull. He was unable to stand and desperatly ill suffering once again from Lead Poisoning. After weeks of treatment he stood for the first time, and now you wouldn’t believe it was the same bird. He is still sometimes unsteady on his legs, which is understandable, but we are sure he will return back to the wild in a couple of weeks time. Also brought to our care were a couple of black swans from York Universirty for treatment for various injuries. These swans were corrected and were returned back home. Thanks to York Univeristy for the kind donation towards the swans’ treatments.

Two Whooper swans were brought into care in the last few months. One was very out of place and unwell at Whitby Harbour. The other swan was collected from a vets in Pontefract, having been involved in a territorial fight between other swans. Both have been released, and we hope they make it back on their migratory route. We have rung them, so it should be interesting to see if we get any sightings back from bird watchers abroad.

We attended a big oil spill on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Burney in Lancashire in February, which coated a pair of swans and a number of ducks in black oil, tipped in the water by vandals from a nearby work site. After much washing and fairy liquid, we corrected the swans’ white plumage again. Unfortuently the male swan has a frozen wing as a result of an old injury and couldn’t fly, and was therefore decided we would release the pair on a lake where they could be looked after. They were released locally at Sheriff Hutton Hall on a beautiful lake.

The RSPCA called on our help to an seriously injured swan at Driffield. Somehow this swan had flown through a glass pane of a portacabin, and was drenched in blood. The swan was brought back to the hospital and treated accordingly, and seemed to be progressing well. Another female swan was rescued from Warrington in Cheshire after colliding with a power pylon, shattering her wing which was removed. Unfortuently neither swans made it through their injuries – probably due to internal damage. A beautiful female swan from Chester-le-Street in Durham was found with serious injuries after being savaged by a couple of large dogs. Another swan mauled by dogs died before we could reach it at Rother Valley Country Park in Sheffield. And uncontrolled dogs attacked a male swan at Watergate Park near Newcastle, leaving behind a nesting female. He has now been returned and is the pair are progressing well with their nest.

As always, we have delt with a high volume of swans suffering from fishing line injuries. One particular female from Scunthorpe was grossly underweight and would have starved to death had we not reacted from a call from a member of the public. A large amount of line was down her neck and wrapped around her beak.She has now recovered and returned back to her lake. Lead posioning has also played a big part in many rescued swans; we continue to battle on.

A swan from the Selby Canal at Brayton was found suffering from burns after flying into the lines. He was still alive, but for 3 other swans which had hit the lines at the same place weren’t so lucky. We have made contact with the power company and we hope that reflective bird diverters will be placed on the line shortly. Another swan was brought to us from Wendy at the Cedar Wildlife Sanctuary at Sutton-in-Ashfield which she had rescued from Center Parks in Nottingham with a badly infected leg; he is progressing well.

Of all these hundreds of swans brought into care in less than 12 months – 742 to be precice – we have saved all but 16 of them, making our success rate very high. These 16 are gone but certainly not forgotten, making us more determined to help even more swans, whatever their problems and wherever they are.

The Range Rover donated by the National Swan Sanctuary for us to use as a veterinary ambulance is sadly no more. While collecting it from the garage after repairs, we had quite a nasty road accident which resulted in the vehicle being written off. All people in both cars escaped uninjured, only badly shaken. We were stuck without a vehicle for a few days wondering how we could possible replace a 4X4, until our wonderful volunteers Linda along with Carol and her husband wasted no time in searching for a new 4X4. We were purchased a Vauxhall Frontera, which is great at the job we need it for. Thank you so much to these truely fantastic people.

We have remained lucky with continued press and television coverage in recent months. We are currently filming for the new series of BBC 1’s Animal 24:7, which will be shown on national television later this year on weekday mornings. We have also finished filming for ITV’s Dales Diary with Luke Casey, and are about to begin filming with BBC’s Inside Out for their new series in the Autumn. Continued coverage on local news including BBC Look North and ITV Calander News has also aired recently. Although some what daunting at first when you are attached to a mic for hours on end, we quickly get used to a television crew following our every move, and it can be quite enjoyable. Large feature articles have appeared in most local newspapers, as well as general stories about the swans brought into care. A story of one of the shot swans even reached The Sun newspaper, and a large article about the swans in the Sunday People was published in February.

Our always grateful thanks to our wonderful volunteers, who give their time selflessly on a regular basis, cleaning out, rescuing, repair works and fundraising; our Saturday volunteers Julie & Faith, Sunday volunteers Lynne & Barbara and our other frequent volunteers Annabel, Lawrence, Ian and Rob. Thanks also to the other organisations which have invited us to do a talk at their meeting. A talk at the Galtres Centre in Easingwold to the Yorkshire Country Women Association earned the swans a few pounds, as well as allowing people in to a small insight of the work we do and carry out, and what they can do to help.

Finally and most importantly many thanks to all those people, who have sent their donations, contributions and support. We remain forever grateful for you help; without you we simply would not be able to continue.

Dan & Joe

Founders, Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital

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