Spring Babies

Wildlife Aid founder, Simon Cowell MBE, reports on the return of orphan season and the abundance of baby rabbits in Surrey

- Simon Cowell

AS the weather turns, we find ourselves in the madness of orphan season once again, when WAF HQ fills with tiny baby animals in need of help. It is a round-the-clock operation to treat, feed and care for the young who arrive, having been injured or abandoned by their parents.

The first orphans of 2018 arrived early, just before the end of January and were two young pigeons that had been found abandoned in a box in Woking town centre. They were rushed in to see our vet team but, amazingly, they were not even cold, which shows how mild the early weeks of the year were. After a thorough checkup, they were moved into one of our incubators to keep warm. They will grow up at the centre and will head back to the wild once fully grown. In the wild its rare to see baby pigeons and many people are surprised to realise they grow downy yellow feathers before their adult plumage comes through.