Grassroots Wildlife Warriors
It was a regular Monday afternoon, I was on my way home after the mornings dog walks, enjoying the brief break in the rain when I was greeted by an unexpected sight.
There, pretty much on the door-step, of a thatched cottages that sits on one of the Chalke Valley’s winding country roads, was the unmistakable slumped shape of a barn owl. A delicate bundle of white and fawn feathers, wings hunched, its long legs clumsily outstretched and entirely motionless.
I parked in the adjacent layby, grabbed a dog blanket from the boot of my car and slowly made my way over the casualty. On my approach the dazed owl took off on shimmering wings and floated away on the grey afternoon air.
At first, I was relieved. It was flying, nothing was broken, perhaps it was just a concussion from a passing car?
This hope was short lived. No sooner than it had taken off, it had crash landed into a nearby field, using the last dregs of its energy to evade me, and I knew it needed more help than I was able to give it.
This time, the barn owl let me wrap it in a towel and carry it safely back to my car, where it was placed in a dark box (luckily Bill only works up the road and had a box to hand) so I could whisk this beautiful creature off to a local wildlife hospital.
Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital, situated in Newton Tony, takes in all sorts of wildlife casualties: from badger cubs to buzzards, deers, foxes, hedgehogs by the hundred and everything in between. After ringing ahead, I was greeted by some incredibly busy but very helpful volunteers who took the owl in.
Unfortunately, the owl’s story doesn’t have a happy ending.
It was severely underweight, perhaps due to the elongated spells of rain we’ve had (barn owls aren’t equipped for wet weather). These cases are notoriously tricky to solve and sadly this barn owl didn’t make it.
I was sad at the loss and that there would be one less barn owl gliding, ghost like, over the valley’s meadows, but this sadness was met by the comfort in what these wonderful people at the hospital had managed. Giving up their own time and lives for the needs of our wildlife.
It made me think about other encounters I’ve had with people who are passionate about wildlife and how they’ve gone out of their way to make a difference to the natural world around us.
In April 2019 the Wilton Wildlife Group (WWG) was set up on Facebook – a place for locals to go and share their wild encounters, gardening tips and record wildlife sightings within the Wilton area. It was (and still is) a roaring success, with many people regularly posting and inspiring others to look for the nature around them. WWG have already organised successful conservation days within the area, going ahead despite some rather soggy weather conditions, to help habitats and their inhabitants thrive.
The group’s founder, Maria La Femina started the group as a way of ‘bringing the local community back together in what is currently a very fractured country’. She says: “I think every village in the UK should have a WWG, XR are working from the top down but working ground up in your local patch is really important.”
I can’t help but agree.
Yes whilst lobbying and protesting at a higher level helps spread messages and encourage change, it’s the work - literally from the ground up, at grass roots level that is bringing those chances to fruition. It’s those local conservation groups getting out there and managing habitats or caring for wildlife casualties and advising others that’s contributing to the preservation of our UK wildlife.
Small changes make big differences.
After my brief encounter with the barn owl, I very fittingly stumbled across a barn owl related blog through Twitter. The Owl Whistler is the blog of Elaine Ground, and it’s an enchanting account following her encounters with the owls that she regularly feeds on her farm. Delightfully descriptive and packed with a whole host of information about barn owls and their habits, it’s another shining example of someone working to help wildlife at a grass roots level. I urge you to indulge in this blog – and spend some time in the company of the Owl Whistler.
There are people all over the country doing their own bit for wildlife, from young conservationists to writers, to social media influencers, the work groups, the artists, the people that feed their birds in the garden. Right now, as our environment endures so much there is a whole army of wildlife warriors fighting for it.
So, whilst this blog started with a sadness, and is encased by so many other issues that our world is suffering with, it ends with glimmers of hope. Glimmers that arrive in the form of people - normal people who do extraordinary things for the planet we live on. All of which are living proof that you don’t need to have a degree in biology, be an expert in the field, or be a famous personality to make a difference, all that is required of you is love, and passion and the willingness to care.
Perhaps now’s the time to enlist as a Wildlife Warrior?
