Peterborough nature-lover nurtures baby birds after nest is destroyed

The fledglings, that appear to be no more than three weeks old, were due to be brought to Unity Wildlife Rehabilitation & Welfare in Whittlesey after having been rescued from a nest that had fallen from a three storey building. Sadly, one of the fledglings didn't survive the fall and the move to Unity never materialised.

It was at this point Laura received a phone call asking if there was anything she could do to help.

She said: "I think I must have had about every possible animal. I've had love birds, chinchillas, bunnies, ducks and dogs. I couldn't leave them, I had the means necessary so felt I had to take them.

"I've had some experiences with looking after rescue birds before. The first first bird I nursed back to health was a swift and someone brought me a wood pigeon from their garden."

Laura is an RSPB member but became a port of call for people who had injured animals almost by accident.

She added: "About a year ago my husband Paul brought me a trail camera and we started to put it in different locations around Hampton to capture the wildlife. We started capturing a lot of great photos of deer, badgers, owls amongst others.

"This grew into the Nature Cam group on Facebook and from there I started getting tagged in posts where people were asking for help about birds."

She has happily taken on the responsibility though and housed the House Martins joined the array of animals already in her home, including a Cocker Spaniel, rabbits, ducks and a pigeon.

In an effort to best replicate their natural environment the fledglings are being kept in a bowl with the remaining parts of their nest alongside a cat carrier. Laura has housed them in her home office where it is cool and dark and is feeding them on a diet mostly consisting of meal worms.

Looking after them also involves spraying them with a fine mist, this can help to make sure their feathers remain waterproof, and doing wing exercises. This includes having the birds rest on you finger and moving their wings up and down to make sure they develop. House Martins rely on their wings more than most birds as they spent the majority of their lives in the air, rarely landing.

Laura said: "They are very lively, they chirp and shout at me all the time, so I turn around and give them some more meal worms. They're so quick to take it out of your hand. My husband and kids, Maisy and Joshua, help with the feeding too and they love all the animals we have in the house.

Laura has been posting regular progress updates on the birds over on the Nature Cam Facebook group and hopes to be in a position to release them back into the wild in another five weeks.