Miley's Lucky Start

Although he is used to being asked to rescue birds by neighbours, LARRY MANN had a new challenge when his daughter rang up to announce she had found a duckling under her sofa.

- Larry Mann

DUCKS

IF YOU are known to keep birds, locals will come to you for advice and help in saving wild individuals. It could be catching wild birds that have found their way into homes or have suffered injury from road collisions. When I moved into our newly built estate, the gaps under the eaves were not provided with pest guards, so the local starlings decided this was an ideal place to nest. I had many callouts retrieving birds from the loft space. Non-bird people would chase them around trying to catch them with improvised or real nets using bright lights. My technique was to leave the birds to settle in the dark, shine a torch on them to make them freeze, then pick them up.