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| Pavel & Elena |
Why
do they do it? It is clear that rescuing a Swift nestling here or an
injured Sparrow there will make no difference to the population of
those species. Some people would even argue that it's a waste of time
and resources, which could be better spent on other aspects of
conservation. But that is to miss the point. We rescue and care for
individual animals because - at least this is my view - in so doing
we show a “duty of care” for our environment and its denizens. We
do more than that: we set an example to others.
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| White, Black, Bosnly and Shugar |
Whatever
their philosophy of rehabilitation, Pavel and Elena are totally
devoted to every one of their patients. To start with, they give each
one a name - Swifts this year included Bosnly, Cobra, Elm, Emilion,
Gold, Shugar and White; their Nightjars were Agatha and Ruby; their
Scops Owls Solomon and Babayka; their Roller was Jora; and their two beautiful
Red-rumped Swallows were Kiki and Melissa.
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Ruby the Nightjar
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Most of these, and many
others, were successfully rehabbed and released back into the wild.
Inevitably, there are cases where the rehab is touch and go, for
example, the Scops Owl Babayka, which was brought in with an old wing injury. Against all the odds, Elena and Pavel nursed it back to health and, after two nailbiting months, were able to watch leap from their hand to fly strong and free again.
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| Solomon the Scops Owl |
They also offered to take
an injured Eagle Owl, but the people who had it decided to keep it
(it was later put to sleep). Swifts, of course, are their main
business. By the end of August, Elena sent us a report on the Swift
year so far:
“Spring
was beautiful, the weather was nice. First fallen Swift chick was 18
days old! We didn't get any fallen “babies” without feathers and
with closed eyes. Thankfully! But in June the weather became
incredible hot, and Swifts began to jump from roofs. The last wave of
swifts was the worst, with more fatalities. We had 120 birds this
season, maybe we will have more later…”
Their
success is amazing when you remember that they are operating on a
shoestring. They depend on donations and the occasional help of
friends. They can save petrol money if people who find an injured
animal will bring it to them instead of expecting them to go and
collect it. To have built aviaries and other keeping cages in these
circumstances is nothing short of miraculous.
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| Jora the Roller |
To have produced
posters and other publicity materials to spread the message of their
work is equally so. They are getting more and more well-known for
their work, and are reported occasionally in the local press. They
now have plans to create their own website, with local friends to
help them. And they are never short of plans for the future: already,
Pavel has started on the building of a greenhouse and a big outside
aviary for birds of prey.
What
is perhaps most heartening is the way Pavel and Elena have become
part of the international network of Swift enthusiasts and Swift
rehabbers. A special mention of Ulrich Tigges, who has done so much
to support them over the last few years.They are in regular
correspondence with other rehabbers: ours - Judith and Deborah - and
others such as Christiane Haupt in Frankfurt.
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| Kiki the Red-rumped Swallow |
They also get
occasional visitors to Tashkent, for example, two zoologists from
Spain visited them this summer. And, of course, they stay in touch
with everyone by email. Their regular reports are a joy to read.
Pavel
and Elena, in a word, go from strength to strength: they are the most
professional of amateurs, and they deserve all our support.
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