Admission of a Found Bird
At the Swift Clinic, the procedure for reporting or delivering a foundling follows a relatively uniform pattern. Found birds are usually either reported directly to the clinic by phone and delivered, or they arrive there via detours after the finder has dropped them off at places they assumed were responsible (veterinarian, animal shelter, other foster care station, forester, bird enthusiast, zoo...). Frequently, the transport of the bird must be organized by the Swift Clinic staff themselves. Volunteer courier drivers can be used for this purpose; alternatively, trips may be organized through voluntary or professional animal rescue services, and in recent years it has repeatedly been possible to find volunteer drivers through the Facebook group Wildvogelrettung (Wild Bird Rescue). In principle, however, the cooperation of finders is also required.
Telephone Report
Often finders do not know what bird they have found. The staff on the phone have been trained to determine through targeted questions whether it is a swift. Frequently, the finder is asked to send a photo by email. No advice is provided for other bird species or other animals. Finders are informed that they should seek advice and help elsewhere, for example from their local Nature Conservation Association, the Facebook group Wildvogelhilfe (Wild Bird Help), or animal shelters. If it is a swift, questions are asked about who found the bird, when, where and under what circumstances, how long it has been in the callers care, whether it has been pre-treated, fed or otherwise cared for, and how it is housed. Finders receive instructions on how to handle the found swift until it is delivered to a foster care station or the Swift Clinic. Depending on the case, finders are referred to foster care stations in their geographic area (unfortunately, due to a lack of foster care stations, this is not possible in all cases) or the swift can be brought to the Swift Clinic. If a finder decides after thorough consultation to care for a young bird themselves, they can always find information on the DGfM website and of course also seek advice by email.
Delivery to Another Location
Here, data about the finder and more detailed circumstances are often missing, because found swifts are not infrequently dropped off without comment at veterinarians, animal shelters, zoos, bird protection associations, etc. and only reach the clinic later. Contact with the finders can usually no longer be established, and a medical history was typically not recorded.
Hospital Admission at the Clinic
Upon arrival at the clinic, the finder and bird are received by a clinic staff member. Together, the basic data are recorded in the patient file and the medical history is documented. Providing personal information is voluntary and serves to enable contact in case the birds condition requires follow-up questions. Of course, this information can be refused; data is not shared.
The swift is weighed, and for young birds the age is estimated. It is then placed in a Curver box lined with kitchen roll paper. At this point it is time for the finder to say goodbye: The swift is now taken to the clinic area and examined and treated as quickly as possible. Access to this area is generally not permitted for outside persons for hygiene reasons and to avoid stress. The finder receives an information sheet describing the general procedure; of course, one can inquire about the condition and whereabouts of the swift. It is best to write an email; during the main season, the telephone should be reserved primarily for reported emergencies. Emails are answered promptly.
Patient File and Medical History
The anamnestic questions relevant for a swift have been refined at the clinic since 1995 into a schematized questionnaire. Since 2000, they have been systematically recorded in a 4-page patient file for each found bird. Information recorded includes details about the finder (name, address, phone number), about the location and date of finding, the exact circumstances of finding, as well as details regarding measures taken on the found animal by the finder, a veterinarian, or another person. Furthermore, any feeding attempts, feeding technique, and housing of the foundling are inquired about, as well as information about the duration of stay with the finder, contacts with people and animals. The question of who referred the finder to the station is also relevant.
The finder is then informed about what will happen with "their" swift, and their questions are answered. They receive an information sheet about the work at the Swift Clinic.
If the admitted bird is an emergency and/or there is extreme stress in the clinic during peak season, conversations with finders may necessarily be very brief to avoid jeopardizing patient care with long interruptions.
The swift is weighed and examined and admitted to the rearing and care area of the clinic. Juveniles and adults are usually housed in separate boxes, but always in small groups of two to four birds. Exceptions are patients with suspected infectious diseases, who are isolated in quarantine boxes. For emergency patients, heated intensive care boxes maintained at 30-32°C and darkened are available.
After reviewing the preliminary report, clinical examination of the found bird, hospital admission and initial treatment, the collected data are organized by urgency, documented and assessed in the consecutively numbered patient file. They serve as decision-making aids for the subsequent treatment of the foundling, further medical procedures, and the necessity of radiological or further examinations.
The basic data of the bird are recorded in the transit list of the Swift Clinic. An ID card is written for the new patient and attached to the Curver box in which it is housed. These are administrative tasks that run parallel to the care of the found bird. Each bird can be uniquely identified. Computer tasks such as transferring the transit list to Excel and creating the banding list are currently performed externally or on privately brought laptops.
The identification of swift patients is ensured by banding with aluminum rings from the Helgoland Bird Observatory or provisionally by a discreet marking on the head, back, or wing shoulder with correction fluid, which dissolves by itself after some time without residue or harm.
Feeding, care, and medical treatment of patients are carried out as described under "Found Bird" and "Veterinarian".
