Kildare Wildlife Rescue

Did you know pigeons can hatch chicks all year round? So while we aren't expecting anymore baby garden birds this year, we will still find ourselves admitting baby pigeons, also known as squabs.

Unfortunately for these two little wood pigeon squabs, their nest was accidentally destroyed while hedge cutting works were being done. Thankfully, the finder contacted our team and the squabs were collected by one of our volunteers and transported to the centre for continued care.

They are growing well and in a few short weeks they will be moved to one of our outdoor aviaries to practice flying before making their return to the wild.

As the seasons change, so does the food that is available for our wildlife. While the spring and summer offered plenty of insects, young plant shoots and early fruit, this time of year nuts, seeds and berries become important staples in many wild animals diets.

For the Red squirrels in care that means volunteers are going out and responsibly foraging for a variety of natural foods. Hazels, beech mast, acorns and blackberries are regularly being offered to our squirrel patients. Not only are these offerings enrichment, this practice also helps enable our juvenile squirrel patients to properly identify food when released.

This little Red squirrel (26-1893) will be moving to soft relesse next week and we are confident with her enthusiasm towards hazels and beech that she will have no trouble finding food on her return to the wild.

Are you a DJ looking for a wickedly fun gig for Halloween that also contributes to a great cause? Look no further! Kildare Wildlife Rescue is hosting a Halloween Fancy Dress Ball at the Silken Thomas in Kildare to raise much needed funds for our patients.
For more information DM us!

Do you remember this poorly fox we admitted in August that was suffering from a horrible case of mange?

Swipe for the transformation!

They still need a little more time in care before they are released for their fur to thicken up and for the few remaining sores to finish healing, but they have made an incredible recovery while here!

Without the support of the public, we would not be able to offer this level of care for Irish Wildlife. If you would like to support our efforts, please consider joining our Patreon community. As a charity, Patreon memberships form an important part of our funding, and you can join for as little as €5 a month. Becoming a member allows you access to newsletters with behind the scenes insights and exclusive talks with wildlife heroes.

Link in bio.
www.patreon.com/kwr

Or if you would prefer to donate directly, the final slide has our banking details.

Thank you for helping us help wildlife.

Closing applications for Work Placements are today!

Applications are now open for both Autumn and Spring work placements at our Rehabilitation Centre in Kildare town.

This placement is suitable for third level students looking for a work placement as part of their ongoing studies. Please note, however, that this is not a clinical placement.

Placements run on a weekly basis over 8-10 weeks and offer students hands-on experience with all aspects of working in a busy rehabilitation centre. While on placement, you will be part of our friendly, hard working team and can avail of our monthly workshops and Lunch & Learns. Initial training will be provided prior to coming on site.

To enquire further or to request an application form, please email [email protected]. Applications for the autumn term close on Friday 16th September at 5pm.

Thank you, We had an wonderful outpouring of support during our last appeal for food. Currently we are in need of puppy pads.

Donations can be dropped to the centre in Kildare Town between 9am and 7pm 7 days a week.

R51 X338

We have had a number of recent admissions of swans and ducks involving fishing line entanglement.

Fishing line is one of our leading causes of admissions in waterfowl patients. Becoming tangled in fishing line can lead to panic in birds as they try and free themselves from an invisible threat. When attempting to free themselves they can cause further injuries. Some succumb to the exhaustion of trying to escape.

Its not just fishing line that causes problems. Many birds accidentally ingest fish hooks thinking they are food. When caught on a hook externally injuries can interfere with eating or flight. When ingested, internal injuries and potential lead poisoning may result.

All of this suffering is avoidable. Packing out what you bring in when fishing means making sure no fishing line or lures are left behind. We are visitors to wildspaces, but wildspaces are the homes of our wildlife and we should always be respectful guests.

We are excited to announce Yvonne McCann RVN of Hedgehog Rescue Dublin as a speaker on Day 2 of our Biodiversity Conference with her talk "Handrearing Hoglets."

Yvonne founded Hedgehog Rescue Dublin in 2013 and has dedicated her time to rescuing sickly, orphaned and injured hedgehogs. In this talk Yvonne explores the challenges of handrearing hoglets. Hoglets often arrive newborn, already injured and with the odds stacked heavily against them. With all of these challenges, how can we get them from completely dependant hoglets to successfully released independent hedgehogs? Join us as Yvonne guides us through what she has learned in 13 years of handrearing hoglets. She will discuss the importance of hygiene, the formula used at Hedgehog Rescue Dublin, the importance of record keeping and the process of getting infant hedgehogs prepared for their return to the wild.

Tickets are available on our Eventbrite, Link in bio.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/kildare-biodiversity-conference-2026-tickets-1996629454446

Would you believe us if we told you this little ball of fluff would grow up to be a Sparrowhawk? (It's true, swipe for the glow up!)

This nestling Sparrowhawk (27-4492) was admitted to us after falling from the nest in Wicklow. The young raptor was injured in the fall and was admitted to the centre for veterinary attention to address an injury to her foot, and for hand rearing.

Thankfully, her foot healed wonderfully and our team took great care to avoid imprinting during her rehabilitation. She has now been moved to one of our outdoor aviaries to build her flight strength, and we are happy to report she will soon be returning to the wild!

Without the support of the public, we would not be able to offer this level of care for Irish Wildlife. If you would like to support our efforts, please consider joining our Patreon community. As a charity, Patreon memberships form an important part of our funding, and you can join for as little as €5 a month. Becoming a member allows you access to our newsletters with behind the scenes insights and exclusive talks with wildlife heroes. Link in bio. www.patreon.com/kwr

We are excited to welcome Dr. Sophie Lund Rasmussen on Day 1 of our Biodiversity Conference with her talk on Measuring Local Biodiversity Through Research On Hedgehog Diet.

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) was uplisted to Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List for Europe in 2024, highlighting the urgent need for effective conservation and biodiversity monitoring approaches to stop the decline. As a hedgehog researcher, her goal is to understand the causes of this decline in hedgehog numbers, how to stop it. One reason could be lack of natural food items for hedgehogs due to the massive loss of biodiversity, leading to the study hedgehog diet.

Here, Dr. Lund Rasmussen will present a framework that uses hedgehog faecal environmental DNA (eDNA) and macroscopic investigations of hedgehog stomach contents, as a tool for assessing local biodiversity. Hedgehogs are ideal biological samplers because they occupy relatively small home ranges, forage across multiple trophic levels, consume a broad diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate prey, and produce easily identifiable faecal samples. DNA metabarcoding of hedgehog faeces therefore captures not only the hedgehog's diet but also provides a snapshot of the wider ecological community within the local landscape. This approach has the potential to detect cryptic, rare, or previously unrecorded species while simultaneously generating valuable information on hedgehog ecology. Building on a collection of nearly 800 faecal samples gathered through long-term field studies and citizen science collaborations in Denmark and the UK, ongoing analyses are evaluating the method's effectiveness as a scalable biodiversity monitoring tool. By positioning the European hedgehog as a model species for ecosystem surveillance, this work demonstrates how conservation research on a charismatic mammal can generate broader insights into biodiversity loss and ecosystem health.

Join us! Tickets to the conference are available through our Eventbrite. Link in bio.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/kildare-biodiversity-conference-2026-tickets-1996629454446