Hello all!

Hi all, I suppose I should introduce myself properly having already posted in a couple of threads here. I found the site via Google looking for information about the starling on Friday's Autumnwatch.

When we moved into this house here in Cheshire in 2004 my partner and I thought it would be nice to put up a couple of bird feeders, having gone from a terraced house with flagstone patio to a large garden. Soon we went from little to moderate bird knowledge (had had none, I knew some common bird types) to joyfully observing our own flocks, and even learning their Latin names. With wildlife came the inevitable wildlife casualties, and so we found the local wildlife hospital. We fell in love with Louis (the ASBO Crow), sanctuary resident on the grounds of breaking into houses and supermarkets and after visiting a few times got into volunteering. In 2007 we did most Saturdays and ended up taking orphaned birds home to hand-rear (my partner Chris works from home which is ideal for giving nestlings the TLC they need). 2007 brought us, amongst many youngsters, a magpie who ended up too tame to release. In 2008 another magpie was brought to the wildlife hospital after landing on postmen and being captured, and we also heard about and gave a home to a starling. November 2008 saw us rehoming a 20 year old magpie who sadly died in July this year. So we live with Pie and Chips (the magpies) and Indy the starling, along with 2 crows who've been with us for 18 months growing feathers good enough to fly with (which they now have ... but they won't go, even though the aviary roof has been open for weeks!), a magpie with a clipped wing who was in a Larsen trap, and a long-suffering cat who's not in the slightest interested in birds.

I'm looking forward to reading through the rest of the boards and contributing where I can :)

Maisie