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Gower Bird Hospital - Research

Gower Bird Hospital carries out research into the best ways of caring for sick and injured birds and mammals.
Below are some of the procedures we are using.

A helminth egg found in a faeces sample	High technology always helps
Gower Bird Hospital is always looking for ways to improve facilities for patients. We have made tremendous progress since registering as a charity in 1996. We have always kept meticulous records. Every patient’s details are recorded on database enabling us to answer questions and predict trends. More than 1200 patients are brought to Gower Bird Hospital every year and as much history as possible is noted. So far, the first fledgling to arrive is always a blackbird in early April! The microscope is another very useful piece of equipment. Samples of all bird and hedgehog droppings are looked at and parasite burdens monitored. We are in the process of compiling an extensive range of photographs and video recordings which will be useful to wildlife hospitals everywhere. The CCTV system is invaluable when assessing patients’ fitness. All wildlife will be wary of predators and people are seen as predators by most birds. If a bird can see you it will try to disguise any weakness – in the wild a weak specimen is always targeted as easy prey. Standing next to an aviary and looking in will produce three different behaviours: the bird will hide behind the privacy screens provided, remain absolutely still or panic and hurl itself at the aviary walls trying to escape. None of these actions give us any idea of the true condition of the bird. Left alone and observed through the CCTV, the bird will relax and again drop the painful wing, close the sore eye or lift the weight off an aching leg. When we see the bird is showing no signs of discomfort, we know it is fit enough to be released and will have a good chance of surviving in its natural habitat. Hedgehogs also hide their injuries when frightened. An infra-red camera was set up in one of our local soft release pens. All activity in the pen was recorded onto video using timer switches. The door of the release pen was open and the hedgehog under observation was going out to forage for food and returning to the safety of the nest box for the day. Watching the recordings we could see that she was limping badly on one of her back legs. We took her out of the nest box to examine her and because she was frightened by the disturbance she showed no sign of a limp – she even ran across the lawn. Without the CCTV, we could not have known she was in trouble.
Simon in the lab.

Increasing our knowledge
THE use of CCTV also gives an excellent opportunity to observe behaviour. Footage is recorded and studied, leading to great improvements in aviary design and the mental well-being of our patients. Students from Swansea University use the facilities at Gower Bird Hospital to carry out research projects. The welfare of our patients is paramount. No experiments are carried out to induce stress – we record normal activities at the Hospital and only this behaviour is studied. We simply wouldn’t have the time to do all this vital but time-consuming work ourselves, but we do spend a great deal of time supervising the students and organising projects which are beneficial to both students and Gower Bird Hospital. Stam, our most recent M Phil student has studied more than 1,000 hours of video recordings of hedgehogs over-wintering at the Hospital. These are young hedgehogs too small to hibernate. Like many other wildlife hospitals, our protocols are to keep a number of hedgehogs together in a designated room. We provide as much variety as possible using dry leaves and bark chippings on the floor, a selection of nest boxes and different foods. As hedgehogs are normally solitary animals, we were worried that close confinement with others, even if siblings, could result in stressed hedgehogs. We had already observed signs of bullying – this simply wouldn’t happen in the wild as the hedgehogs would always be able to move away from each other. Our concern was that the unnatural confinement might be leading to aggressive behaviour. The hedgehog room was flooded with infrared light and four cameras recorded the hedgehogs activities. Different groups of hedgehogs were filmed – all-male, all-female, a mixture of sexes, different sizes. When this study is complete it will answer some important questions and hopefully, will improve the quality of life for over-wintering hedgehogs across the country!
	A still from the infrared CCTV, the screen has been split into four to record as much hedgehog behaviour as possible.

Donations

Gower Bird Hospital relies entirely on donations, if you would like to make a donation on line, click the button below or complete a monthly standing order to the hospital, please print our donation form and post it back to us. This form also includes the Inland Revenue Gift Aid declaration that enables us to reclaim the tax that would otherwise be kept by the treasury.

Gower Bird Hospital, Valetta, Sandy Lane, Parkmill, Swansea, SA3 2EW
Tel: 01792 371630, Fax: 01792 371412,
E-mail: info@gowerbirdhospital.org.uk
Reg. Charity No. 1053912

The pictures and the text on this website are not in the public domain and must not be copied or used in all or in part without prior written permission from the copyright owners.
Pictures: © Chinch Gryniewicz
Text © Gower Bird Hospital

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Gower Bird Hospital - Research

High technology always helps

Increasing our knowledge