Eight birds glued to sticks in 'horrific incident'

2 hours ago

Alex Pope

News image — A blue tit was found stuck to a wooden stick by a passer-by

South Essex Wildlife Hospital A blue tit bird, stuck to a wooden stick, surrounded by large green leaves. It is mostly blue, with some green colouring and a white face. — A blue tit was found stuck to a wooden stick by a passer-by

The discovery of eight birds glued to wooden sticks has left the founder of a wildlife charity "heartbroken, frustrated and angry".

Sue Schwar from the South Essex Wildlife Hospital in Orsett said a member of the public spotted a blue tit struggling near a makeshift bird feeding station in Wickford that had been surrounded by glue-coated wooden dowels.

She said six blue tits and two great tits were taken to their hospital for treatment on Thursday and were expected to make a full recovery.

The charity confirmed it was working with Essex Police and the RSPCA as part of an investigation into the "truly horrific incident".

In a Facebook post, it said: "Missing feathers, bruising and significant stress plagued every single one of them but, amazingly, they seem to be doing well in our care."

South Essex Wildlife Hospital A bird, in the hands of someone who is wearing gloves. It is on its back. It has a mostly white face and coloured body. — Eight birds were rescued and taken to a wildlife hospital

Two volunteers were sent to the scene after the incident was reported.

Schwar said the birds were "lucky to have been found".

"I'm heartbroken, frustrated, really angry that we have to deal with wildlife crimes, like this, almost on a daily basis."

All the glue has now been removed from the animals but she expects it to be "weeks" before they are released back into the wild, as their feathers need to grow back and become weatherproof again.