BORDER Beasties travelled to Berwick recently to help celebrate the 21st birthday of the Swan and Wildlife Trust.

We first heard about the work of the Trust in Peebles Old Town veterinary practice, run by Les Clerihew, and after visiting their "swan shed", we have supported them ever since!

Berwick is famous for the hundreds of swans who live in the Tweed basin and the Swan Trust has a great deal of experience in looking after them, but they also look after a wide variety of wild animals and birds from all over the Lothians and Borders.

The volunteers never know what tasks face them on a day-to-day basis - rescuing sea-birds such as guillemots and gannets, swans and other wildfowl, examining road casualties - deer, foxes, badgers, otters - caring for hedgehogs, owls and other birds.

Border Beasties were fascinated to see a baby weasel and a nest of tiny house martins whose mud house had collapsed. There were many orphaned ducklings and cygnets being cared for and finding comfort in being together in a "family" group. A short-eared owl which had a wound on its back after being attacked by another bird, sat solemnly eyeing us up, as we admired him.

An adult swan was ready for release back onto Tweed, and the young gulls' natural camouflage made them quite hard to see against the rocky walls of their pen.

Huge improvements have been made since those first days and thanks to hard work and support from the public, they now have large aviaries and outside ponds, an operating theatre and recovery area, as well as x-ray facilities. Border Beasties' recent donation bought a much-needed new, large, fridge!

It was very heartening to meet two young volunteers, one of whom cycles 14 miles each Sunday to help out, and as he has a special interest in hedgehogs, he is a good lad!

The only sad note during our visit was the re-dedication of the centre as the David Rollo Wildlife Centre. David was their vet who devoted all his spare time and his retirement, to the work of the Trust and its patients. He died this year and is very much missed by everyone.

Alison Pearson