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PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WILDLIFE RESCUE. OUR 2025 CALENDARS ARE NOW ON SALE. We are excited to reveal our 2025 calendar. We have worked with an amazing artist Charlotte Hannaford Presige Artwork . She has produced beautiful pencil drawings and we have 100 calendars to sell to raise money for WeCare Wildlife rescue. Each calendar £15.99 plus P+P . Email us if wish to collect from Brantham or Dovercourt or Email us for address for postage. Thank you.

So it begins…Gull chick’s are hatching…it’s warm and they move around and fall of the roof. It gets a bit gull mad at this time of year!

Gull chick’s can not cope on own and parents can not get them back to safety but are very protective.

If possible the best outcome is to put back on the nest or at least get them higher up so safer from predators but parents can get to them.

If this isn’t possible but they are in a safe area the parents will come and feed till they are old enough but this is a few weeks .

If need advise or need us to help one please call or go to our website for advice.

This little one is the first (of many) that arrived today .

The rehabilitation of these takes months. I do the chick stage…feeding and care. Then as secondary feathers come through they go to Claires pen and then when old enough lose in her garden so they can safety learn to fly and then leave. (Often returning )

This takes huge amounts of time, food and cleaning (they are messy beasts!! )Please support us if you can by visiting our donations page.

Thank you,

Gill

** As a non-profit, home run rescue we rely on donations to help with essential daily costs. Please consider visiting our donations page if you are interested in giving us a one off or regular donation so that with your support WE can continue to CARE!

 

WE’RE BAAAACK!! Hope you all had a lovely bank holiday last week and enjoyed having the kids off from school. We might have closed for the day to be with family but still plenty going on with the current cases!

When on a rescue if we can give advice on preventing the same thing happening again we will-unfortunately the advice isn’t always taken…back around Easter Tracey and Gill went to a duck that hatched babies in courtyard and gulls were killing the babies-measures weren’t out in place so the same thing happened again, thankfully they were able to safely catch mum and ducklings then relocated to the river!

A young magpie came in having been taken from its nest by a predator and dropped. It had an open wound on its chest that flies had gotten to and laid eggs-after a deep wound clean and some food it thankfully perked up!

In came a poorly fledgling crow-very thin, low on energy and showing white feathers-very poor diet caused protine and calcium deficiency, year + rehab from this state

Collard dove arrived in a collapsed state covered in ants with wounds from a crow attack-warmed up, wounds treated, emergency food given and it perked up able to perch!

Rare rescue for a beautiful swift that was exhausted from being grounded in a kitchen-It was a healthy weight with no injuries and a nest near by so release was the aim asap that day.

Our last lot of 3 babies were ready to go off to the big lake with the other ducks and geese-they will fly off from there when they feel ready!

Ending the week on a very odd one: a lady’s chicken hatched some eggs and somehow ended up with a pigeon egg in the mix-rightfully so this little one has been named chicken! It will be fully hand reared and hopefully the start to life won’t have confused it !

 

Thank You For Reading This Weeks Web Update, See You Next Week !

 

** We thank you all for your continued support and interest in what we do caring for wildlife.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram – Give us a follow!

** As a non-profit, home run rescue we rely on donations to help with essential daily costs. Please consider visiting our donations page if you are interested in giving us a one off or regular donation so that with your support WE can continue to CARE!

 

We’ve had a big baby bird week this time! Lots of in and outbound feather balls along with a few other cases, here is our week in review: 

•  We got an insight into “A Day in the life of Gill-chef human to the winged babies” edition, check our Facebook/Instagram page for this article.
• Our nursery has been very busy with different babies at different stages but are growing well and getting ready to fully fledge.
• Tracey had a Jay that was hit by car, after a quick bit of rest and some food he was ready to go from her garden-she actually managed to get it on film too!
• In came 2 tiny babies after their parents unfortunately got caught by a cat so they joined our other littluns.
• 2 fox call outs in one day (1 of which was an RSPCA no show) both taken to vets with extensive injuries and the decision was made to sadly put them down but it was for the best.
• We revived a nesting box of 8 blue tits after mum and dad were also killed so again they joined the other young ones.
• We finally had some ready to leave!! 5 blue tits, 2 starlings were ready so off they went.
• We had another “day in the life of Gill-Olympian deer rescue fence vaulter” preview-again, check out our Facebook/Instagram page for the full rundown!
• Another nest of chicks came in; some ready to fly, 9 just starting to perch, 10 just starting to open their eyes and 2 very very tiny little babies… all need feeding every 15 minutes from 5am till 11pm so we are busy busy as you can imagine.

 

Thank You For Reading This Weeks Web Update, See You Next Week !

 

** We thank you all for your continued support and interest in what we do caring for wildlife. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram – Give us a follow!

** As a non-profit, home run rescue we rely on donations to help with essential daily costs. Please consider visiting our donations page if you are interested in giving us a one off or regular donation so that with your support WE can continue to CARE!

 

What a beautiful change in the weather this week! We’ve still been just as busy. Here’s what we’ve been up to instead of lapping it up ourselves:

• Our grumpy swan caught up in a finishing line/hook had a successful release post treatment at SEWH-after making the long (and expensive) journey there and back to bring him home safely we had high hopes the mate he left behind would still be waiting but she was nowhere to be seen…until later that day we received the stunning photo of them both reunited! A truly happy ending that fully defines why we put in all the time and effort for these animals.
• We had 5 little rabbit kittens come to us after their home burrow was damaged. Unfortunately we lost the smallest-he was a whole 100g lighter than the other 4, which are doing very well and are now staying outdoors and feeding themselves.
• 2 squads came in after their nesting tree was cut down due to safety reason and were hidden so well they weren’t seen in advance.
• In came another hungry little mouth to feed, 3 pigeons, the phone ringing endlessly and a morning trip for Tracey and Gill to a stuck deer which was unharmed and safely released, all in the space of just one day.
• Our first lot of 13 ducklings left for the next stage of their journey-they joined a mother and her brood of 14. That’s going to be one busy mumma rounding up 27 ducklings! Our little gosling duo also went the same day and as always we owe our biggest thanks to the wonderful Stella.
• Last but not least this week, after no parents were seen coming or going from the nesting box we were called to take a peak and soon came to the conclusion they got more than they bargained for in the nest-9 groggy little peepers!

 

Thank You For Reading This Weeks Web Update, See You Next Week !

** We thank you all for your continued support and interest in what we do caring for wildlife.
You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram – Give us a follow!

**As a non-profit, home run rescue we rely on donations to help with essential daily costs. Please consider visiting our donations page if you are interested in giving us a one off or regular donation so that with your support WE can continue to CARE!

 

We’ve been having a bird week! This time of year with nesting season being in full swing we are seeing lots of orphaned/injured young or silly parents getting into a predicament. Please contact a rescue like ourselves as soon as you find an animal in need, reaction time can truly be the make or break point and remember that not all injuries are visible!

• Our original gang of ducklings are all doing brilliantly outside in their pen and are almost ready and grown enough to be released.
• We have had an additional 3 younger ducklings join us including a little shelduck. (bet you can’t spot this little imposter!)
• Our gosling pair are doing great enjoying a splash about in the sunshine-our little one with the badly injured leg has been having the splint and bandages changed daily and has finally began using its leg now the wounds have fully healed thanks to quick action of the finder contacting us so care could begin!
• Our dove and pigeon now fly away freely but come back for a good meal and a nice warm bed come the evening still at the moment.
• We had a male swan rescue after reports came in his leg was entangled by a fishing line and hook-after removing the line and giving him good check, some food and respite care we hop to release him back to his partner in the next few days.
• All of our fox cubs are still growing well, we no longer being handled/interacted with them and they permanently stay in their outdoor run and den which we dot their food around to help build foraging instincts.
• Also this week we gave a big thank you shout out to Deborah Birch for making us a reusable swan bag! Presented with an old sail and a template she worked some magic which will save us lots of money while still being able to secure swans in a calm and safe manor for transport.

 

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS WEEKS WEB UPDATE, SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

**We thank you for all your continued interest in what we do caring for wildlife.

You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram – Give us a follow!

** As a non-profit, home run rescue we rely on donations to help with essential daily costs. Please consider visiting our donations page if you are interested in giving us a one off or regular donation so that with your support WE can continue to CARE!

 

We have been quiet with call outs this week but that doesn’t mean we have been busy. Weeks like this give us a great opportunity to focus on the current animals in our care giving them the critical care/treatment needed and get them closer to being ready for release as well as getting some well earnt time to ourselves at home where possible!

• Our 4 fox cubs are doing incredibly well! They are all steadily putting on weight and growing up so fast. They are loving their bigger pen with an outdoor run being very playful with each other which is a great sign of their development.
• We’ve had our first gosling of 2024 in and in the same day had our second! The little one pictured had an open wound and leg fracture from what we believe to be a pike attack-after a good clean and leg split we put them in together and they have settled in well.
• Our final point of this week is not so much of an animal update but an awareness post: nesting season is in full swing now and although you may think you are being helpful please do not feed swans or any other birds directly on or around their nest. This will attract rodents and predators to the site who will sadly steal eggs or even kill the babies. The parents have been preparing for months ahead of this so the best thing you can do is be ready to adore those little babies and support the parents with feeding once they are born.

 

Thank You For Reading This Weeks Web Update, See You Next Week !

 

**We thank you all for your continued support and interest in what we do caring for wildlife.

You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram – Give us a follow!

** as a non-profit, home run rescue we rely on donations to help with essential daily costs. Please consider visiting our donations page if you are interested in giving us a one off or regular donations so that with your support WE can continue to CARE.

 

It’s been another busy week thanks to the indecisive British weather confusing wildlife! We are seeing quite a few cat attack victims and fledglings that didn’t need interference…

 

• managed to release a few pigeons but sadly our white dove succumbed to the infected wounds having been kept too long by the finder before receiving treatment.
• black bird fledgling brought in, unfortunately we can’t raise them like their parents could, but we hope to feed and release when ready.
• up to 4 fox cubs, all doing well and enjoying time together learning and growing in a bigger run.
• still have lots of ducklings and numbers continue to rise faster than they grow to be ready for release.
• thanks to Laura & Lewis for helping with 4 transfers from SESAW; a lone duckling to Gill’s+2 gulls and a rook to Tracey’s.
• dog attack swan from March is back to fit health and can be seen in the group at Dovercourt Boating Lake.
• a confused hedgehog, quick check over and some food then turn it back on its way.
• vet transferred a blue tit, fed and flight checked then off it went.
• time to restock the hospital shed after last weeks clean…£300 later we filled up on special milks, foods, medical supplies, and all other essentials.

 

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS WEEKS WEB UPDATE, SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

**We thank you all for your continued support and interest in what we do caring for wildlife.

You can also find us on Face book and Instagram – Give us a follow!

Welcome To The First WeCare Weekly Web Update !

We plan to make this a regular occurrence along with our daily updates on our social media platforms, a little something to bring joy to Mondays !

**You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram – Give us a follow!

 

Week #1 // 8th April 2024 – 14 April 2024 .

What a week it has been! We’ve had a poorly Tracey this week but still giving us her best as always and Gill has been up to her neck with new cases everyday…Here’s what we’ve been up to !

• Three orphaned fox cubs came in – very tired and hungry but are all settled in and are doing well .
• Our 2 young squabs have reached the higher branches in the aviary which is a great sign of their development .
• We had our first duck release of 2024! Mum and her 11 babies were relocated from a school back to water .
• Gill had a thorough deep clean of the hospital aviary in preparation for peak season .
• We were called out to a deer stuck in a fence, we had to contact the fire brigade to also attend and help spread the bars – She was safely released with just a few bumps and scuffs that were treated on scene .
• Our outdoor aviaries at Gill’s are complete and also ready for peak season to start .
• Calls for a pigeon , fledgling , leveret and a bat – unfortunately the leveret and fledgling didn’t make it and advice was given to contact a bat specific rescue due to them being protected .
• On the same day as above , we also had a call for 12 orphan ducklings – initially only 11 were caught till later that evening when the last  was then also caught , all 12 reunited and doing well .
• Ended the week with a very angry ( or embarrassed ) swan that had crash landed into some French doors – no injuries just a little dazed so was relocated to a near by existing flock .

 

Thank You For Reading This Weeks Web Update, See You Next Week !

**We are a non-profit, home run rescue so without your support and donations , as well as all the time and effort put in by our team of volunteers , none of this would be possible . We are very grateful to you all !

We need 5 keen people to help paint outside of our hospital shed and give inside a spring clean. I will be doing a list of items needed for spring and so also need someone to update our amazon wish list.

Please contact us via website if you can help. We will then organise a day.

Well of course a swan rescue was due this week….

I got a call regarding a swan with a painful leg at Mistley. Popped down and of course all the swans were on the bank except the one I needed. I watch for a while as it had a swim around and then it suddenly decided to fly onto the beach. I had to act quick and grabbed it. Popped in the car and went to the vets. They X-rayed his leg and no fractures were found, but a swollen, painful toe. Now settled at mine for rest and anti inflammatory meds. Vet bill £110!

With so much attention being paid to climate change and the impacts of our actions on the natural environment, we are all becoming increasingly aware of the pressures on our wildlife. We are also realising how important the natural environment and the creatures that live within it are to our own health and wellbeing. This heightened awareness has led to an increase in demand on the services being provided by animal rescue centres, at the very time when spiralling energy and food prices have forced many such organisations to close, adding yet more pressure on those that have managed to survive. Fortunately for our region, WeCare Wildlife Rescue is not only still operating, but growing, largely thanks to its expanding volunteer base, its “home-run” operation and financial donations helping to keep costs at a manageable level.

Originally, WeCare was an acronym for Wildlife Essex Care and Rehabilitation Enterprise, but, as word has spread of its existence beyond the Essex borders, the present name of WeCare Wildlife Rescue was adopted. Founded by Gill Lewis in 2017, the Brantham-based wildlife rescue centre is dedicated to not only providing life-saving care for sick and injured animals, but also their rehabilitation and return to the wild, whenever possible. Formerly a veterinary nurse, Gill had previously managed a kennel, cattery and dog-training centre, as well as overseeing Crofters Rescue, a facility dedicated to rehabilitating and re-homing unwanted pets. On settling in the area, she swiftly gained recognition for her commitment to animal welfare. Initially called upon to assist a kestrel and, then, an injured swan, word about Gill’s efforts gradually spread and so, WeCare was born.

As WeCare became better known, donations started to come in, from both individuals and local businesses. Donations are the life-blood of any volunteer-run organisation and for WeCare it has meant that vital items of equipment can be purchased (for example, incubators for very sick animals and a microscope for detecting parasites), as well as food and medical supplies. Local Rotary clubs and chambers-of-commerce have been at the forefront of providing financial support, reflecting the recognition of service WeCare provides to the community.

Over the six years since it was established, WeCare has looked after hundreds of animals. Not surprisingly, given its location close to the River Stour and its estuary, a majority of its patients have been birds, particularly waterfowl and seabirds, but also birds-of-prey, song birds, woodpeckers and garden birds. Mammalian patients have included countless hedgehogs, a growing number of deer, a stoat and the occasional badger and fox cub. Given the increasing numbers of animals being brought to the Centre, Gill has had to provide training to volunteers so that care can be administered at other locations across the region. Spring is always an incredibly busy time, with the facilities and demands on time stretched to the limit, so having trained volunteers will mean that WeCare’s operations can become more sustainable. 

WeCare has been particularly successful in caring for swans, including, unfortunately, several that had been attacked by dogs. In severe cases, the birds often need to be transported to veterinary centres for specialist treatment and then on to dedicated wildlife sanctuaries. This is when the volunteers truly come into their own. In addition to these rescue operations, WeCare actively looks after the local swan flock, monitoring the health of the birds and providing them with supplementary winter feed, if necessary, when natural sources of food can be scarce. Feeding the swans with nutritious food specifically designed for waterfowl helps to maintain the health of the flock and build up defences against disease and infections, such as bird ‘flu.

As mentioned at the start of this article, being a home-run operation has the advantage of lower costs, but it also has the disadvantage of limiting the number of animals that can be cared for. WeCare has ambitions to expand, but will first focus on consolidating what services it is able to provide, putting further emphasis on education and awareness-raising of when an animal needs help and when it should be left alone, training volunteers and strengthening relationships with vets and other animal welfare organisations, so that assistance can be provided in a much more coordinated way. All this will require continued donations and the help of volunteers. WeCare is a community organisation and relies on the support its community can provide. If you would like to make a donation, please visit the centre’s website at www.wecarewildlife.co.uk. Any donation, not matter how small, is gratefully received. The website, still under development, will also provide advice on what to do if you find an animal in distress, plus news on rescues and fund-raising events.

By Stefaan Simons, Press Officer, WeCare Wildlife Rescue