Ruffled feathers all round as wind leaves birds homeless

More than 150 young chicks across Edinburgh and the Lothians have unintentionally flown the nest after they were knocked from their trees during the wild winds and rain.

The fledglings found they couldn't weather the storm after nests caught up in gales fell to the ground and trees the owls were sleeping in fell over.

Luckily, most of the ruffled youngsters only sustained cuts and bruises, leading the Scottish SPCA to believe that it will be able to release them into the wild within the next two to four weeks.

More than 300 chicks have been found by members of the public across Scotland in the past three days, with around 50 per cent of them falling from trees in Edinburgh and the Lothians. The more unusual feathered friends include a long-eared owl and a buzzard.

SSPCA staff have been driving around in vans to collect the dozens of homeless chicks, which are now resting up in its Fife centre.

Wildlife Rescue Centre manager Colin Seddon said most of the chicks were now recovering. He said: "Over the past few days we've had a huge amount of young birds, including ten owls, garden birds and crows.

"The rescued birds include around 40 blue tits, a buzzard, a long-eared owl and a tawny owl. We also found 30 ducklings that had lost their mothers.

"The high winds came at the peak time for young birds, so it was awful timing. Many fledglings have just hatched in nests at the top of trees. Whole nests were blown down and owls were sleeping in trees that fell down. Luckily there were few injuries apart from a few cuts and bruises, although a couple of crows did have broken limbs."

He added: "I think the birds might have flapped a bit on their way down, which would have acted a bit like a parachute and broken their falls.

"We'll rear them for the next two to four weeks then let them go. At the moment we've having to feed the baby tits every 45 minutes."

Mr Seddon said a lot of the birds were found in central Edinburgh and were severely traumatised.

He said: "It's very sad because a lot of them were almost ready to leave the nest. Instead they fell down and were huddled into corners to try to avoid foxes and other predators. Members of the public were very good at calling the helpline.

"Other than in extreme weather like we experienced this week, we would still advise people to leave fledglings alone unless they are in immediate danger."

People who believe a bird is injured or has been orphaned should call the animal helpline on 03000 999 999 for advice.