Helping Wild Birds in Caernarfon and the UK

EDIT ~ apologies for the goal, which is revised as the situation changes. We have had to do our share in shouldering responsibility relinquished by the RSPCA and large Rescues in this difficult time. We have had to rehab birds. We also are taking in birds that need more time that the remaining Sanctuaries can give. Thank you for your understanding and your generosity at a time that is economically difficult for you too

Hi ~ my name is denise and you can find me on my Facebook and Instagram pages as Foundation For Feathered Friends. You can also find the Foundation on Twitter tweeting away ~ though no one listens! 

Although i have been feeding the birds daily in Caernarfon for some years my mission started in earnest in September 2019 when a flock of about 50 pigeons were blocked up in a disused building to die of dehydration and starvation. Pigeons and Gulls are classed as vermin and referred to as 'flying rats' here and i could not stand by and see them being abused. With the help of Social Media, i was able to free those pigeons. When it happened the next time in February 2020 lockdown was in full swing and i was pretty much on my own but the pigeons were safe after lengthy negotiations. Subsequently, the pest controller who had been contracted even came to me about the tiny newborn gulls that he was being paid to cull. we placed those birds with wonderful Rehabbers.

With nesting season came the difficult task of helping fledgelings who tumbled from their rooftops at an alarming rate. These i either placed with rescues or fed in situ if they were uninjured. The feeding needed to take place at 5 am and at dusk when there were less people likely to interfere. It was a harrowing task keeping them safe from traffic, predators and human interference. And all this time normal feeding still continued and injured birds needed placing. Mid June to Mid August is a challenging time for anyone involved in rescue.

The Facebook page was just supposed to be in advance of the intended Website. The Website's purpose will be to help any member of the public who finds an injured bird and needs advice on how to keep the bird safe until finding Rescue or to be informed as to which Vets are wildlife friendly. i had no idea that i would be inundated with requests for help for birds all over the UK. Hand on heart, i can say that i found a home or treatment for every one. The birds did not all make it but its a fact that not all the birds can be saved. It is devastating with every single bird that climbs the rainbow bridge as we say to console ourselves. Sometimes all we can do is keep them warm and safe and loved at the end.

i have also been well placed to reach out to the RSPCA, RCVS and Organisations and Companies on behalf of others to save individual birds who have been trapped in their premises or who are being culled and i consider this an important part of my mission. There are also seemingly impossible aspects of wild birds' care that i want to work on. i am learning as i go along and making new Friends who feel the same way every new day.

A new aspect of my work has been to help to put pressure on large Organisations to either remove illegal netting or to modify it to bring it in line with The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and also to put pressure on them when they are infringing The Animal Welfare Act 2006. This is very time consuming and i am hoping people will realise that i cannot raise enough to fund all these activities on my own. 

In the year 2021 i have put out £550 in donations to Rescues and Rehabbers to pay my birds' ways and also to keep some Rescues safe from closure. Therefore i am trying to replace those funds with at least £500. (i have also raised funds through Friends of my page for a specific instance when a bird needed help extra to this.)

Since starting the Fundraiser i have raised £170 for two individual rescue efforts which has been donated to the two separate Rescues and so i have had to up the Fundraiser target from £500 to £670.

This year i have trialled putting fat balls in containers in the woods so that the little (and large) woodland birds are safe in the cruel winter months. This is currently running at around about 400-500 fat balls a month! That is Robbie in the picture on 10 December 2021. He meets me most days and i wish you could have heard him singing last night. He is a proper little Welshman with a voice of gold. i do not want to increase the area if i cannot sustain it. my own business suffered through the times that we have been living in and i now take about 1/2 of what i did in 2019. i set up a little ebay shop for the birds but it is very hit and miss and after commission and postage the amount raised is not enough. And so i am reaching out to anyone who can help me raise some funds to help wild birds both in Caernarfon and in the UK. i know through my own experience how difficult times are so if you are experiencing difficulties yourself please do not feel guilty about not being able to help.

This year there has been the added stress in that the Rescues where i could send the nestlings that tumble out of their nests and then the fledgelings who get injured when learning to fly simply are not there. Because of Avian Flu restrictions the RSPCA and many Rescues are not helping birds!!! Talk about taking your umbrellas back when it starts raining. In addition, the heatwaves have had a devastating effect and i have taken baby gulls in to rehydrate and feed until they are able to fly off.

Frankly, it has been the most stressful baby bird season of all. i have now raised the fundraiser to cover the costs of baby gull Achilles treatment/transport and donation and for donations made this year for costs already paid for donations and transport for injured and baby gulls.

For anyone who can help then these are some of the birds you will be helping ~ gulls, pigeons, jackdaws, robins, sparrows, blue tits, blackbirds, magpies, crows, wood pigeons, wagtails and a whole rainbow of finches.

Thank you from the birds and myself and i wish you a safe and happy 2022