Brent Lodge Emergency Telephone Number (open between 9am & 5pm)

 

(01243) 641672

 

Emergency Advice

If you have an emergency or urgent enquiry, please contact us for advice by telephone on (01243)641672 between 9am and 5pm.

Out-of-hours emergency

If a genuine emergency situation occurs out of hours (after 5pm) which would require immediate medical treatment, AlphaPet runs an out-of-hours emergency service which be accessed by telephoning the surgery number, (01243)842832. You will then be given a mobile number for the duty veterinary surgeon to whom you may speak directly for assistance. Please note that this service is for genuine emergencies only. Please DO NOT use the out-of-hours service for anything other than emergency advice for a situation that is likely to require immediate medical treatment.

If you find injured wildlife

If you are local and have found an injured bird or mammal that appears to require veterinary treatment, please take the patient to either AlphaPet's animal hospital in West Meads (near Aldwick, between Bognor Regis and Pagham), or to Brent Lodge, depending upon which is closer.

Brent Lodge

You may bring patients directly to Brent Lodge between 9am and 5pm.

Brent Lodge's address is: Cow Lane, Sidlesham, Chichester, West Sussex, England. PO20 7LN.

Click here for a map of where to find Brent Lodge.

Brent Lodge's telephone number is: (01243)641672.

AlphaPet

West Meads surgery is open 8:30am to 7:00pm from Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:00pm on Saturday and 10:00am to 1:00pm on Sunday.

AlphaPet's address is: 11-17 The Precinct, West Meads, Bognor Regis, PO21 5SB.

Click here for a map of where to find AlphaPet's West Meads Hospital.

AlphaPet's telephone number is: (01243)842832.

Please note that only injured birds and mammals should be taken to AlphaPet. Any creatures that are obviously just orphaned or abandoned, rather than sick or injured, should be brought directly to Brent Lodge.

If in doubt, please call Brent Lodge for advice on (01243)641672.

 

Baby Birds & Pigeons

• If you've found a baby bird, then prior to doing anything else (preferably before picking it up) please read the page on our web site about finding baby birds.
• If you have found a racing pigeon (with bands on its legs), then visit the Royal Pigeon Racing Association website for some useful information. If you're still unsure about the best course of action, contact Brent Lodge or your nearest wildlife hospital/rescue centre for advice.

General First Aid

If you find an injured or sick bird or mammal, you can save its life by placing it into a closed cardboard box with torn-up newspaper. All wildlife has an instinctive fear of people, so putting an injured wild bird or mammal into a cage with nowhere for it to hide will rapidly put it into a state of shock, which can prove fatal. Being placed in a warm, dark, quiet environment will minimise shock. Then contact Brent Lodge, or your nearest local bird and wildlife hosptial.

Oiled Birds

If you find an oiled bird, follow the first aid advice above and contact Brent Lodge (or your nearest local bird and wildlife hosptial) immediately. Do not try to wash the bird yourself as it could do more harm than good. Cleaning oiled birds is a specialised procedure.

Birds That Have Flown Into A Window

A bird that has flown into a window may simply be stunned. Follow the first aid advice above, and leave the bird well alone in the box for about three hours (or overnight if you found it late evening). Then try to release the bird: If it flies away then no further treatment is necessary! If not, place it back in the box and contact Brent Lodge (or your nearest local bird and wildlife hosptial).

Personal Safety

Large birds can have powerful beaks and a long reach. Be sure to keep beaks well away from your eyes!

Contact by email

Please do not email us for urgent help! Although we do read all emails, they are not continuously monitored, so it could be several days before we see them.

If you need advice it is better to telephone us or another wildlife rehabilitation organisation near to where you live.

I'm in the UK, but not local to Brent Lodge

You can find a wildlife hospital nearer to you by having a look at some of the links on our links page.

The British Wildlife Helpline lists the contact details of wildlife rescue centres all over the UK. To find details of your nearest listed centre, click here.

You can find some useful wildlife emergency first aid advice on the St.Tiggywinkles web site. St. Tiggywinkles also operates a telephone helpline, and they maintain a very comprehensive list of rehabilitators across the UK. Their phone number is 01844 292 292.

International information (non-UK)

USA

If you are in the USA, you should contact a local rehabilitator rather than Brent Lodge.

There is a good directory of rehabbers, listed by US state here.

There is also a useful site about how to look after US species of baby birds and small mammals here.

GLOBAL

Although it is intended primarily for the USA, there is a good international list of rehabilitators here.

SELECT: @ eMail | Telephone | Post

Please do not email regarding urgent matters.

Email is not monitored around the clock and it may be a few days before your message is read.

Note: If you wish to apply to volunteer, please fill out our online volunteer application form.

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Telephone

(01243) 641672.

The office is open from 9am to 5pm.

You should always contact us by telephone for emergencies - never email, as this may not be checked for several days.

Post

If you would like to contact us by post, our address is:

 

Brent Lodge Bird & Wildlife Trust

Cow Lane

Sidlesham

Chichester

West Sussex

PO20 7LN

England

Who are we?

Brent Lodge Bird and Wildlife Trust is a wildlife hospital. The trust, founded in 1978, is located near to Chichester in the South of England.

Click here for a map of where to find us.

What do we do? (Our mission)

Brent Lodge is dedicated to the treatment, rehabilitation and release of injured wild birds and mammals.

The Trust's policy is to ensure that as many patients as possible are rehabilitated and successfully released back into the wild.

Brent Lodge regularly takes patients from an area extending in excess of 40 miles. Exceptionally, patients are brought to us from as far afield as Kent, London, and the Isle of Wight.

How do we do it?

Brent Lodge is a registered charity which depends entirely upon voluntary help and donations. We rely heavily on support from the local community in the Chichester area, with many local people working as volunteer helpers in the hospital and as fundraisers.

Below is a list of just some of the ways in which we raise funds for the hospital and engage in community education about the welfare of British wildlife.

• Memberships

  Supporters are invited to join Brent Lodge as members, who receive two newsletters per year. We currently have at least 1500 members, most of whom live in the Chichester or Portsmouth area, but we also have members from all over the UK and a number of overseas countries, including Mauritius and Australia! In addition to helping to fund our activities, the membership scheme also serves to educate both adults and children about the work we do and the care of British wildlife in general. We have a range of membership options, with children's options including special educational and activity packs. For more information or to sign up, click here.

• Charity Shops

  The trust also gains valuable funds by running charity shops in Selsey and East Wittering. Our shops can be found at:
  • New Parade (on the corner of West Street), Selsey, West Sussex. Telephone: 01243-605125
  • Wittering Walk, in East Wittering. Telephone: 01243-673426

• Selling Donated Items at Fayres, Events, Online Auctions and Website

  In addition to our charity shops, we also sell a variety of donated items at our fayres and events, online auctions, and through this website.

• Donations and Bequests

  Much of our income arrives in the form of donations and bequests. It is now easier than ever to make an instant donation to Brent Lodge right here via the website.

• Adopt a Creature

  We also run an "adopt a creature" scheme, where supporters are invited to "adopt" one of our patients, contributing to the costs of it's treatment and stay in the hospital. To find out more click here.

• Fundraisers

  We are also involved in many fundraising events throughout the year. Please see the diary of events for details.

• Education

  Staff from Brent Lodge often visit local schools, Women's Institutes and other community groups to give educational talks about wildlife and the work of the hospital. By prior arrangement, it is also possible for such groups to visit us on site. If you would like to arrange such a visit, or a talk at your school or community group, please contact us.

 

Overview

Currently, the hospital receives over 3000 patients every year. Every patient coming in is assessed by an expert carer and treated for whatever may be wrong in a fully equipped modern surgery. They are then placed in the quiet of a hospital cage with food and water to recover. Whilst they are watched throughout the day there are regular daily assessments of the patients progress, which involve monitoring its feeding, weight gain or loss, appearance the healing of wounds and so forth. Further treatment may then have to be given on a daily basis until the patient are ready for releaser. The patients that require longer term care are housed in the outside aviaries. While most of our patients are birds, Brent Lodge treats around 500 mammals every year.

By far the most common cause of the casualties we admit to Brent Lodge is road traffic accidents, but we also receive birds and mammals suffering injury and illness from a wide range of causes. Patients range from hedgehogs who have been attacked by cats, or hoglets who are unable to cope with the weather, to hawks and falcons which commonly collide with objects when chasing their prey with a tunnel vision focus. They have been known to fly into cars, windows and even walls, whilst their prey narrowly avoids the obstacle. These birds also suffer from enteritis, canker and flying lice infestations. We also receive many small chicks, brought in by well intentioned members of the public who have wrongly assumed that they have been abandoned (please read our baby birds section!).

Brent Lodge also sees a number of sea birds, particularly guillemots and razorbills that have been covered in oil from ocean and coastal spillages or discharges.

Sadly a lot of birds suffer at the hands of human beings. Some birds and mammals are injured due to people's callous disregard for their wellbeing; throwing stones at birds and kicking hedgehogs around as footballs are two such examples. Birds can suffer from accidents and injuries as many and as varied as those suffered by people, and they are also vulnerable to infectious diseases from their friends, mates, eating infected food, or from the many parasites that infest them.

Mammals

The majority of the mammals that are admitted to Brent Lodge are hedgehogs. The following list shows some common problems that hedgehogs are admitted for.

• Bites from dogs, rats and foxes.
• Stab wounds from garden forks.
• Injuries caused by garden strimmers.
• Infestations of ticks and fleas.
• Wounds smothered in maggots.
• Injuries caused by road traffic accidents.
• Babies unable to cope with cold weather.

In most cases they have to be anaesthetised in order to uncurl them, clean and dress their wounds and give them antibiotics.

Birds

We take a great number of birds of all different species. We sectionalise the birds that are admitted into categories, as shown in the table below. The table also shows the kinds of conditions for which they are typically admitted.

Type of bird	Common reasons for admission
Pigeons, including the many types of doves.	By far the most common of our patients. They are common sufferers from gun shot wounds, cats, stomach infections and a nasty infected growth in the throat called canker. They are also very prone, as are many other birds, to infestations of flying lice which can become numerous enough to cause their death.
Garden birds.	Common examples are blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, the tit family, finches. This category of bird is commonly brought in during the spring and summer by misguided members of the public who think they have been abandoned when they are, in fact, still being looked after by their parents. Please read our section on abandoned baby birds. Cats are a major problem in gardens and around bird tables. These birds are also prone to lice, attack by raptors and many types of infections.
The crow family - Rooks, Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies.	Common injuries are caused by cats, being hit by cars, infections and slow development of babies. Birds which have been humanised by ignorant but well meaning people who care for them.
Countryside birds, not normally found in gardens.	These suffer less from human caused injuries but are still subject to car strikes, infections, invasion by parasites, being shot.
Sea birds.	Gulls suffer very commonly from enteritis during the summer months when they scavenge rubbish tips. The smaller gulls are often blown into cables and trees in very windy weather and suffer wing injuries. Most oiled birds brought in are the guillemots and razorbills, but many other sea birds suffer to a lesser degree. The problem here is ingestion, and many birds not discovered for a day or two after the spill stand little chance of survival as they preen themselves to clean up and swallow the oil. This causes slow death by liver poisoning.
Fresh water birds.	Swans, ducks, etc, fly into power lines, are hit by cars, are beaten up by aggressive members of their own species and also suffer with many infectious diseases. They also have to put up with lead poisoning, commonly caused by ingestion of lead weights discarded by fisherman or shot used by "Sportsmen" when out shooting which falls into the water when spent. They also get entangled in discarded fishing line.
Raptors, including Hawks, Falcons, Owls and other birds of prey.	These commonly hit things when chasing prey with "tunnel vision" focus. They have been known to fly into cars, windows and walls when their prey just avoided the obstacle. They also suffer from enteritis, canker, and flying lice infestations, and are sometimes shot by gamekeepers and others who are either ignorant of the law or ignore the fact that these birds are fully protected. Many small chicks are brought in when found by the public who wrongly assume that they have been abandoned.
The Swallow family, including Swifts and Martins.	Nest collapse is common in the summer when the parents have not done a good job or the quality of the mud is not sticky enough to stick to the wall of the house or barn on which the nest was sited. Many babies are injured and orphaned in this way. Swifts have such short legs that they cannot take off if grounded, and need a platform to fly from. A friendly human hand tossing them bodily into the air makes a good substitute in many cases.
Caged birds.	These are escaped pets which we home until their owners are found.

In 1971 a juvenile Sparrow fell into the goldfish pond at Dennis Fenter's house in Rustington, West Sussex, and found itself unable to struggle out. Dennis, alerted by his dog barking at this strange "fish", scooped the baby bird out, dried it off, and set about hand rearing it. After nursing the tiny scrap back to full health, it was eventually released back into the wild.

Little did Dennis dream just what far reaching results such an action would have! Later that year he was presented with an injured blackbird "as he must know about birds", and again managed to return it to the wild.

Soon after followed other sick and injured birds, arriving at Dennis's door in need of his ever increasing expertise. From those first two small incidents, Brent Lodge was born.

In 1978 Brent Lodge became a charitable trust. The intake of birds, and also small mammals which soon followed, grew beyond anything that could have been envisaged from such small beginnings.

It soon became obvious that a private house was far too small to cope with the swelling numbers of patients, and even Dennis's new larger house and garden was soon swamped by patients. During 1985/6 Dennis decided to sell his house and look for a property that could be developed into a purpose-built wildlife hospital.

Dennis found the ideal site in Sidlesham, West Sussex. A large barn, a couple of big sheds and an old half bricked cowshed, together with one and three-quarters of an acre of land, proved to be the perfect choice.

From this humble beginning has arisen the splendid building complex that now houses the hospital, surgery, wash room for oiled birds, staff room, office, and the warden's quarters.

Whilst the conversion was taking place, all the patients had to be housed in a large wooden hut. Just before Christmas 1991 the construction work was completed, and Dennis Fenter welcomed Patrick Moore, a vice-president of the trust, to open the new buildings. The old wooden hut is now a display area, tearoom and gift shop, used for raising funds on our thrice weekly open weekends.

In addition to the main buildings, a number of outdoor pens and aviaries were also built to house recuperating patients. With all it's attendant medical and surgical facilities, Brent Lodge is now one of the finest wildlife hospitals in the country.

In June 1998, Dennis Fenter's contribution to wildlife rescue was formally recognised when he was awarded the M.B.E. for his outstanding services to injured birds and wildlife through Brent Lodge.

Currently, the hospital receives around 3,000 patients every year, and the number is steadily increasing.