Rescued Birds

Peter Rafter MVB, MRCVS. showing Bubo a rescued European Eagle Owl to a visitor.

Peter Rafter MVB, MRCVS is a local veterinary surgeon with a more than keen interest in avian medicine and surgery. A lot of his knowledge stems from the treatment of sick, injured and rescued wild birds of many different species. With the help from his wife Gill he cares for these birds at his home.

Bubo sustained a compound fracture of her left tibiotarsal bone as she was being transported in the boot of a car. She was brought to Peter for help in which a large pin and orthopaedic wires where used to realign the leg. As Bubo needed months of TLC ownership was given to Peter to nurse her back to the beautiful creature she is today.

Peter has worked on many birds, some with exceptional results. In February 2000 he was presented with a Long Eared Owl, which had been hit by a car. He sustained a compound fracture of his radius and ulna in his right wing. Surgery was required and an external fixator applied to the wing for five of weeks. A skin graft was also used to cover a loss of skin over the break. Again months of care and gentle exercise followed until the newly named Lloyd was flying well again. Peter then contacted Mike from the WOO for advise on Lloyds future. After discussing this in detail with Mike, it was decided upon, sending Lloyd to the "World Owl Trust" in Cumbria, to join a breeding program under the expert watchful eyes of Tony Warburton (founder and Director) and Mark Stevenson (Head Keeper). Although Lloyd looked great we thought his chances of survival in the wild where very low, considering his period of recovery took so long. If you wish to see Lloyd now he is in the massive "Laybourn" aviary at "The Owl Centre" Muncaster Castle, Cumbria. He is enjoying his new life to the full and seems very happy in his new home. Peter would like to thank Mike for his assistance in Lloyd's rehabilitation.

In August 2000 Mike acquired a Sparrow Hawk with a broken wing from a densely populated area of Belfast. It was transported by the finder (Sean Carleton) to the "World of Owls" office in Bangor by taxi. The World of Owls then contacted Peter to provide the necessary treatment. It was found to have fractured its carpometacarpal bone in its wing. The break was then set by means of a fibreglass-moulded splint. It was confined to a specially adapted box, to restrict wing movement, for a period of 2 weeks after which the splint was removed. Five days later Mike and Peter took it to a large field to give her a test flight on a creance to observe her flight strength, which in turn seemed very good. Adverse weather setting in caused the release to be postponed until the following day, and it went better than anyone expected. All involved in the release where more than happy as Sparrow Hawks, once injured, tend to deteriorate very quickly and do not seem to adapt well to treatment, resulting in high mortality. This has been a very good exception.

Peter has, until now, worked independently and he more than welcomes the creation of the "World of Owls". He hopes that both parties can mutually benefit each other and also aid the Northern Ireland Bird population.

The "World of Owls" would like to publicly thank Peter for his continued voluntary support. It is a great pleasure to work with someone who wishes no recognition for his exceptional efforts.