April the tenth turned out to be a red letter day heralding the year ahead.
Yes, it was my sister Pauline’s birthday – perhaps her present to Tiggys was the overfull day sheet of casualties.
It was the first time this year that the numbers taken in overflowed the front page with 29 casualties.
Over the page which should not happen until later in May were two more bringing the total to thirty one.
That is why we are here. Is this a portent of the summer to come.
And a bit worrying is that some animals were brought from outside our area.
Gloucestershire, Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead, a swan from Banbury, a hedgehog from Wexham, Northampton and even Glastonbury.
Why worry?
I do worry when it seems there is no help for wild animal casualties in those areas.
What a list?
And now another list: 3x fox cubs, 9x baby pigeons and doves, 4x wood mouse orphans, the swan, 5x baby blackbirds, 3x finches, a duck, 2x rabbits and, as to be expected, 3x hedgehogs.
Bored?
Sorry.
One particular baby blackbird had a serious injury.
Somehow a cat had caught hold of him and broken his wing.
Our priority when a bird is caught by a cat is to treat the victim with antibiotics to counter that virulent bacteria, Pasteurella multocida, that every mammal, even us humans carry in our bites.
We are used to coping with bird fractures.
Our vet inserted an intramedullary pin into the broken bone.
Back in the bird nursery Hector soon resumed his begging for food.
Normal baby bird behaviour.
Sorry about the lists.