Two goldcrest fledglings – complete with their nest – who were presented by a cat to its owner are being looked after by wildlife carers from Burnham-On-Sea.
Aamazingly, the chicks were found to be unharmed after being brought to Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill.
At the same time four chiffchaffs were brought in, having been found in Somerton on a garden lawn with scattered fragments of a nest. Carers believe that they had been attacked by a woodpecker.
“These tiny birds constantly call for feeds throughout the day and have been painstakingly reared with minute pieces of food by staff at Secret World,” said a spokesman.
“Goldcrests are smaller than the wren and have very distinctive golden feathers on their crest and are quite rare. The chiffchaff is the same size as the blue tit and has a distinctive ‘chiff chaff’ call.”
Dan Bryant, animal carer at Secret World, who has been caring for some of the smallest birds seen in Britain, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “To have managed to rear them to the stage where they are now in a release aviary has been amazing and luckily we have had them fitted with ornithological rings which will enable us to monitor them after they have been released.”
“With our hospital room full of baby garden birds, it has been interesting to hear a different bird song.”
Chiffchaffs are the first of the migratory birds that arrive in Britain for the summer. These are just six of the 5,000 casualties cared for at Secret World every year. At this time of year Secret World is appealing for volunteers and donations to help with the summer influx of animals.
