04/10/2026
Meet Flora!!
Flora is a feral pidgewho came into our care nearly three weeks ago after surviving a hawk attack.
When she arrived, Flora was completely paralysed. She was unable to use either of her legs, had very little movement in either wing, and had a huge wound to her thigh where the hawk had taken away a significant amount of flesh, muscle and tissue.
It would have been very easy to look at Flora in those first few days and assume that she would never recover.
But I’ve seen something similar before. We once had a youngster named Skittle who was completely unable to move after a hawk attack, but as the inflammation and trauma began to settle, movement slowly returned. It was a long road, but that bird showed us that paralysis following an attack doesn't necessarily mean that recovery is impossible!
So we decided to give Flora that same chance, and she has absolutely fought for it!
When she first arrived, one of the things that gave me hope was that despite everything she had been through, Flora continued to eat and drink. She had very limited mobility and had to adapt to a completely different way of existing, but she never seemed to give up.
Now, nearly three weeks later, she has regained full use of both wings and one leg and foot.
She is also slowly beginning to regain movement in her other leg.
That leg is the one that suffered the worst of her injuries, so we know it may take considerably longer to recover, and there is a possibility that she may never regain full function in it. But we are seeing little improvements every day.
She has gone from being completely paralysed to standing, moving and using parts of her body that we weren't sure we'd ever see her use again.
And she's one of the sweetest birds I've ever cared for. She is incredibly trusting with me and has such a gentle little personality. Despite the horrific experience she has been through, she has remained remarkably calm and affectionate, and she has already earned a very special place in my heart.
We still don't know exactly what Flora's future will look like. Whether she will eventually be able to be in the free flying loft will depend on how much function she regains, particularly in her injured leg. For now, we're taking things one day at a time and giving her every opportunity to show us what she can do.
Our Amazon Wishlist has also been updated for anyone who would like to help support Flora and the other pigeons in our care. Every item, however small, makes a genuine difference to the rescue!
We also have some very exciting updates about the new aviary that we've been fundraising towards, and I can't wait to share those with you very soon!
