Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky)

Ex-anaesthetist. Photography; Whistle & Uke player. Archaeology & Indust Archaeology; Citizen Scientist; WiganRLFC; SCAA volunteer. DoE Assessor; Lapsed FLAB 🚴

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

Seems more and more people are leaving here for BlueSky so I’m throwing my hat in the ring as @[email protected]

Not leaving here just yet but suspect that time is closer than it was 24 hours ago

[Bobbie @bo66ie29]

6th June 1944. Over 150,000 brave British, Canadian, US and Allied forces landed by air and sea in Normandy. #DDay

[Dr Helen Fry | WWII Historian @DrHelenFry]

Do please post something today on your X page, in honour of our Allied heroes.

They deserve to be remembered on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@Johnrashton47 What “extensive experience…..”?

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

Straight on to @chordify

[Taylor Swift News @TSwiftNZ]

🎵 | Taylor Swift’s new song ‘I Knew it, I Knew you’ is OUT NOW!

https://t.co/fDZx3880Gl

[Taylor Nation @taylornation13]

Love has ways of bringing things back to life. ☁️ Taylor's original song #IKnewItIKnewYou is out now! Disney and @Pixar’s @ToyStory 5 in theaters June 19. https://t.co/yaF2Vw1NJb

[Dr Juliet Turner @juliet_turner6]

Some people were wondering if Ajax always comes when I call. Here’s the answer:

[Dr Juliet Turner @juliet_turner6]

Among all the cute and funny Ajax videos I wanted to make a more serious post about his care since I’ve had quite a few concerned or critical comments. 👇

He fell from the nest before he could survive. Many birds spend time on the ground hopping around and being fed by the parents before they learn to fly. In this case you should not interfere. This was not the case for Ajax. He was not mobile enough to evade predators and his health was poor. It was not possible to put him back up in the nest.

In most cases, if you find an immobile baby bird, the best thing you can do is take it to a wildlife rehabilitation shelter. However, I am able to provide the proper care and have good contacts with a number of experts whose advice I can follow. I also work from home when not on fieldwork so have the flexibility to offer the intensive care necessary. By staying by with me, Ajax gets constant personalised one-on-one care. It also allows him to remain in the area where he was found and where his relatives are.

I am feeding him the highest quality possible diet and monitoring his health carefully which includes regular weighing and checks for parasites. The care is not easy. It involves feeding him at least every hour throughout daylight which in practice is around 5am to 9pm. Usually feeding means manually pushing the food down his throat with my finger because he is not old enough to eat for himself. He also requires a diverse and specialised diet including live and wild-caught insects and calcium supplement.

There are many ways that incorrectly caring for a chick can be fatal. For example, if you attempt to give them water or do not give them the environment necessary to properly develop their bones and muscles.

The clips of Ajax watching videos may seem silly but they have serious purpose. By playing him videos of wild birds when he is inside, I ensure he continues to be exposed to their sight and sounds. By watching clips of adult birds foraging, he is able to learn these behaviours for himself. I also play him videos of predators with corvid alarm call so that he learns to associate them with danger. This comes in addition to the practical enrichment and training I am giving him.

He spends hours in the garden each day, free roaming (now that he can hop) but carefully supervised. There he is exposed to the calls of wild birds including his own relatives in the trees. The wild corvids have seen me with him and communicate with him vocally. They can see me feeding him and helping him teaching him insect-catching skills. Corvids are extremely social and intelligent, often compared to chimpanzees. If they saw me with Ajax as a threat or something distressing, they would be making alarm calls. They don’t.

Ajax is not caged and will not be kept in captivity. He is being very carefully rehabilitated and will have the option of flying freely as soon as he is able to and if it is safe to do so.

Magpies usually stay with their parents for several months after learning to fly so that they can be taught essential life skills like how to find food and evade predators. I am aware of this and fully prepared to give him personal tuition. It is literally my job to conduct ecological surveys and find and identify insects. It is also something I do all the time for interest anyway. I taught entomological field skills to humans for years. I can teach them to a magpie too.

If he decides that he wants to stay with me then he is very welcome to and I will care for him in whatever way he wants or needs for as long as necessary. This could be at best 10 - 20 years, though average wild lifespan is more like 3 years and only around 20% of magpie fledglings survive their first year. For those from rehabilitation centres, the survival rates are likely even lower.

Anyway, I will do the best that I can and appreciate all the concern. Yesterday, I had Ajax checked over and professionally ringed so that he will be monitored and protected for life.

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@juliet_turner6 Don’t let Ajax see it!

[Taylor Swift @taylorswift13]

It’s a *Toy* Story 🤠
You knew it! My new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Disney and @Pixar’s @toystory 5 will be yours on June 5th. I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?
You can pre-order now exclusively at https://t.co/NoneI6kxdH and catch Toy Story 5 in theaters June 19th ☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@Jenny_1884 What about those receiving Universal Credit who are also in work?

Are you going to remove their support or just call it something else?

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@Jenny_1884 @6117CH They "spent it" on the pensioners of the day.

The current crop of workers are paying for today's pensions

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

Bit niche, but has anyone got any tips as to how to play a Bm chord on the ukulele…… can’t get my fingers to stretch on to the first string without hitting the others #ukuleletips

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@PopBase 18 years!?!

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@strawberraincey It’s brilliant isn’t it………

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@Jenny_1884 I suspect you need to broaden your understanding of ADHD Jen. It’s much more complex than simple “hyperactivity”

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@VerhofstadtQ @dunn_outdoors I’m sure you were equally vociferous when Johnson stood for Parliament while he was still Mayor of London…….

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@VerhofstadtQ Like Boris wasn’t?

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@80sdj83 @afneil Just answer the question.

A simple yes or no will suffice

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@80sdj83 @afneil Did Johnson resign as London Mayor when he stood for Parliament?

[Andrew Ronald (@westhillwanderer on Bluesky) @gasdoc2857]

@seledka_vodka Nothing to do with Kemi. Labour said they’d keep the proposed unfreezing under review….. and they did