BABY season has hit a wildlife rescue centre, which has a flood of young arrivals.

Three owl chicks and four baby hedgehogs are among the newborns being cared for at Wildlives rescue centre in Thorrington.

The owls, only two weeks old, were discovered in a farm in Hall Lane, Thorrington.

Wildlives owner Rosie Catford said: “They should have been up in a tree, but they were in the middle of the farmyard, so goodness knows what happened. They are very, very cute and fluffy.”

The hungry youngsters need to be given a dinner of meal worms every hour, and will be kept at the centre for a couple of months before being given a “soft release” into the wild.

Staff will allow them to fly around a pen to get used to life away from the rescue centre, before releasing them. This will mean other animals will accept them on the territory, and the birds will also know where to return for food while getting used to hunting.

The owls were joined by another set of cute youngsters – four baby hedgehogs, which represent just a handful of the hundreds that the centre expects to see over the summer.

The hedgehogs, who are only four days old, were brought in after a clearout accidently disturbed their nest in a garage in Bertram Avenue, Little Clacton, causing the mother to abandon her young.

Ms Catford said: “They are adorable. They were very cold when we got them in and that is a real problem, but they are feeding very well.”

There are two males and two females in the litter, each of which will need to be cared for over a three to four-month period.

Ms Catford issued an appeal to residents to be particularly aware of hedgehog nests during their breeding season, which lasts from late May into September.

The nests look like football-sized round mounds of grass and leaves.

If one is accidentally disturbed, it should be immediately covered up, while wearing gloves, and watched from a distance to check the mother does return to her nest to care for her young.

Wildlives costs about £60,000 a year to run, but donations are well below that.

Owner Rosie Catford said the centre has been hit by ever-rising numbers of admissions, but only about 10 per cent of people bringing in animals make a donation to help cover the cost of the care.

She said: “We have had major problems this year financially.

“Every year it gets busier and busier for us, and this year it is just unprecedented.

“You try not to think about it and just hope things change.

“At the moment we are keeping our fingers crossed.”