Pigeon stuck in wall for a week ruffles feathers

A "very dehydrated and skinny" wood pigeon that was stuck behind a bedroom wall for a week has been rescued.

Residents were increasingly concerned about persistent scratching sounds coming from inside the walls of their home.

Volunteers from Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue then discovered the trapped bird using an endoscope after making a hole in the wall.

The lucky wood pigeon is recovering well and responding to rehydration and supportive feeding treatment at the rescue centre.

The Cleethorpes residents had been hearing scratching sounds for up to a week and had initially called in a pest control company, suspecting the noises may be coming from rats.

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue then carried out further investigations.

Volunteers from the rescue charity inserted a flexible endoscope up the chimney of the house in a bid to find the source of the scratching noises.

Rescue group volunteer Aaron Goss said: "Pigeons often get themselves in trouble and in difficult positions."

Hearing more noises in one of the bedroom walls, the volunteers made a hole in the wall behind an old fireplace, and discovered the culprit.

The wood pigeon was rescued and admitted for treatment with Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue centre.

"We drilled a hole with a hand drill, put our flexible endoscope through and found, lo and behold, a wood pigeon," said Mr Goss.

"Fortunately the residents were really concerned about the welfare of the bird and allowed us to make the cavity a bit bigger... so we could get the wood pigeon out.

"It was very dehydrated and skinny but it's recovering well. It's got some muscle mass to build back up on its wings, but we should be happy to see it go in a couple of weeks."

The charity has now shared the following update on social media: "When the pigeon was first admitted, we were concerned about its poor condition after going a week without food or water. Their chances seemed slim, but we still got to work with rehydration and, eventually, supportive feeding.

"We're happy to report that the pigeon is now stable and doing much better. It's going to take some time to improve their feather condition and overall health, but we're happy with their improvement so far."

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