Baby season is winding down at this point, at least as far as birds go. Right now I'm down to a few baby Cedar Waxwings, and some swallows, and I've been spending a lot more time helping out in other parts of the center. I can say a few things about my experience with certainty. It's difficult work. The hours are long, there's a lot to do during the day, and sometimes it can be incredibly frustrating. That being said, I'm honestly even more in love with birds than ever. Coming into this type of experience with close to no idea of what I was doing made things interesting. But I'm resourceful and determined, so it seems to have all worked out okay. I've learned so much in such a short amount of time, and I feel like so much has happened that it's honestly hard to believe that it's only been four months. So, let's answer a few basic questions about what I did during my internship. (Thanks to friends and family for asking so many, and helping contribute!)
What was your favorite animal to work with?
Honestly, it's really hard to choose, because I like different species for different reasons. I think overall, the species I enjoyed most were the Vaux Swifts. They're kind of noisy, and clingy, but they're a joy to work with, and sometimes they just seem so silly. Seriously, try feeding one of those things. They're terrible at eating when they're little and it's hilarious to watch.
What was your least favorite animal to work with?
Ugh, Crows. Don't get me wrong. I love Corvids. I especially like crows, but there were just so many. We actually had to put a cap on them at one point because we were receiving such a deluge of them that they were becoming difficult to manage. They make the most darling sound when they eat, but other than that they're noisy, messy, destructive, and they get bored SO easily. Crows are messy, messy creatures. For a long time now I've jokingly called the mess they make Crow Goop. They tend to tear up their substrate, and mush it up really good with water, food and fecal matter, then they decorate with it. Like I said. Crows are gross. They're very cool birds otherwise though, and they're capable of doing a lot of neat things, but that's not what this question was about.
What was your typical day like?
On a typical day if I were opening I would arrive in the morning and make sure all my kids had food. This included everyone outside in enclosures as well as kids that had moved out of my room for various reasons. It was my responsibility to tend to them all the way up until release. By this point the medications are typically ready to be administered and I would do that. Then, in between feedings, I would clean the Columbiformes (Doves and Pigeons) first as they tend to like to walk around in their food, and since I wont give them food before cleaning them I prefer to make sure they're done first. I would clean the crows immediately after as they tend to be the most disgusting. You'd be amazed at the havoc they can wreak in just a few hours. Next I'd clean through the incubators and the rest of the enclosures both in my room and in the back room where some of my kids had moved to. Twice a week I would also weigh everyone as I cleaned them to keep an eye out for any alarming changes in weight that could point to an underlying problem. By the time I've finished this process it's usually close to 1 or 2pm. My counterpart in the bird room would have arrived if she were scheduled that day and one of us would set about making sure the birds were attended to: (Feeding, getting wraps changed, assessing who is ready to move enclosures, or be released, &c.) While the other, usually the opener, started prepping food for the next day. We could go through a gigantic bowl of soft fruits in just one round of feeding. It typically took us at least an hour to prepare just that if we were doing it by ourselves. It just goes to show how important produce donations and volunteers are to us. Even if it's something seemingly insignificant like cutting fruit. It really does help!
The closer upon arriving would fall into one of the two roles I've suggested and spend most of the evening feeding and preparing for the next day. It may sound much less time consuming than opening, but it takes up a huge bulk of time just to get things ready. There's a LOT of food prep to do and plenty of stocking, cleaning and helping out others. After I'd closed the bird room for the night I would help out around the clinic and in the mammal room so that everyone could get out at a reasonable time. This is of course assuming that everything went according to plan and things rarely ever go according to plan now do they?
Why did you decide that you wanted to do this?
Honestly, it all just kind of hit me at once. I never thought of myself as a bird person. I'd always enjoyed animals but had never seriously considered working with them. I started volunteering at Sarvey on a whim. It was a place I'd learned about when we found an orphaned raccoon on our porch. I'd wanted to volunteer at the time, but I lived too far for it to be a viable option. A good six years later I just happened to move in to the area and was looking for places to volunteer. Voila! From there I just kind of fell in love with birds the more I worked with them. When I learned of the internships I was pretty hesitant at first. Even though they were advertised as a learning position I was afraid that I didn't have enough experience. But after I talked to a few people, and received a lot of encouragement, I decided to go for it.
What were you most worried about going in to the internship?
My lack of experience. I was excited and apprehensive all at once. I really wanted to do a great job but I was afraid that the six months I'd volunteered hadn't been enough to adequately prepare me for what I was getting into. I'd never worked through a baby season before. I'd heard that it was going to be pretty rough from others who had done it previously. Luckily, I was introduced to someone who would become my biggest resource early on, and I can't honestly thank her enough for everything she has done for me, and the wealth of information she provided me with throughout. It would have been a completely different experience without her guidance.
What is one animal from any part of the world that you wish you could work with?
A Tawny Frogmouth hands down. They just have such ridiculous faces and they're pretty similar behaviorally to an owl. I've actually seen people confuse them as owls many, many times. (Kind of like how I see people confuse fully grown Saw-Whet owls as being babies because of their size.) I think they'd be a neat one to study and work with. The closest thing we have here in the Northwest are Nighthawks. They have pretty dopey faces themselves. We didn't get any this baby season, which is okay I suppose as I hear they're a pain to work with.
What advice would you give someone who is just becoming interested in the field, or an internship opportunity?
There are a couple things actually. The most important thing for me personally was to be passionate and willing to learn. Be willing to go out of your way to learn about what you'll be working with. Ask a lot of questions and honestly spend some time volunteering if you can. Volunteering was the thing that set me up best for the internship. It probably doesn't hurt to have some experience working with or around the types of animals you'll be dealing with, but no matter how much experience you have, passion and determination for what you do will take you so very far.
How is the internship different than Volunteering?
It's a lot more specialized work than volunteering. You have a set schedule that you are expected to adhere to. You suddenly have real responsibility toward the animals you care for. As a volunteer you can go home at the end of the day without investing any emotion or extra thought into the goings on. As an intern, you often spend your evening wondering how your babies are faring while you aren't there.
What animal would you never in a million years allow into your house?
Raccoons... My god, they'd get into everything.
Have you ever been tempted to eat food you've prepared in the prep kitchen?
I feel as if the correct answer should be, ew, no, not ever. Unfortunately I have had a moments where I was getting pretty hungry and I couldn't help but think that the animals eat better than I do. I have to say sometimes after cutting soft fruits for an hour they start to look pretty tempting
What was the coolest animal you raised and released?
That's a tough one really. There are many that I would consider cool. We raised a Common Flicker, A white breasted Nuthatch, A Western Scrub Jay, Tons of Cedar Waxwings, a nestful of Vaux Swifts, and tons of swallows. Those where the coolest for me personally.
How has this opportunity prepared you for future work in wildlife rehabilitation?
I think that this type of experience is incredibly important to anyone looking to spend time in wildlife rehabilitation. Seriously. If you're thinking you want to go into the field, find some time to intern, work, or volunteer through at least one baby season. You need to experience it yourself to understand the sheer amount of effort and hard work necessary to keep a place like Sarvey afloat. It can be utterly exhausting at times and amazingly uplifting at others. It's not easy work, and yet if you decide you love it it's all worth it in the end when you get to return one more life back into the breeding population and wish them the best as they leave your care.
What was your favorite animal to work with?
Honestly, it's really hard to choose, because I like different species for different reasons. I think overall, the species I enjoyed most were the Vaux Swifts. They're kind of noisy, and clingy, but they're a joy to work with, and sometimes they just seem so silly. Seriously, try feeding one of those things. They're terrible at eating when they're little and it's hilarious to watch.What was your least favorite animal to work with?
Ugh, Crows. Don't get me wrong. I love Corvids. I especially like crows, but there were just so many. We actually had to put a cap on them at one point because we were receiving such a deluge of them that they were becoming difficult to manage. They make the most darling sound when they eat, but other than that they're noisy, messy, destructive, and they get bored SO easily. Crows are messy, messy creatures. For a long time now I've jokingly called the mess they make Crow Goop. They tend to tear up their substrate, and mush it up really good with water, food and fecal matter, then they decorate with it. Like I said. Crows are gross. They're very cool birds otherwise though, and they're capable of doing a lot of neat things, but that's not what this question was about.
What was your typical day like?
On a typical day if I were opening I would arrive in the morning and make sure all my kids had food. This included everyone outside in enclosures as well as kids that had moved out of my room for various reasons. It was my responsibility to tend to them all the way up until release. By this point the medications are typically ready to be administered and I would do that. Then, in between feedings, I would clean the Columbiformes (Doves and Pigeons) first as they tend to like to walk around in their food, and since I wont give them food before cleaning them I prefer to make sure they're done first. I would clean the crows immediately after as they tend to be the most disgusting. You'd be amazed at the havoc they can wreak in just a few hours. Next I'd clean through the incubators and the rest of the enclosures both in my room and in the back room where some of my kids had moved to. Twice a week I would also weigh everyone as I cleaned them to keep an eye out for any alarming changes in weight that could point to an underlying problem. By the time I've finished this process it's usually close to 1 or 2pm. My counterpart in the bird room would have arrived if she were scheduled that day and one of us would set about making sure the birds were attended to: (Feeding, getting wraps changed, assessing who is ready to move enclosures, or be released, &c.) While the other, usually the opener, started prepping food for the next day. We could go through a gigantic bowl of soft fruits in just one round of feeding. It typically took us at least an hour to prepare just that if we were doing it by ourselves. It just goes to show how important produce donations and volunteers are to us. Even if it's something seemingly insignificant like cutting fruit. It really does help!
The closer upon arriving would fall into one of the two roles I've suggested and spend most of the evening feeding and preparing for the next day. It may sound much less time consuming than opening, but it takes up a huge bulk of time just to get things ready. There's a LOT of food prep to do and plenty of stocking, cleaning and helping out others. After I'd closed the bird room for the night I would help out around the clinic and in the mammal room so that everyone could get out at a reasonable time. This is of course assuming that everything went according to plan and things rarely ever go according to plan now do they?
Why did you decide that you wanted to do this?
Honestly, it all just kind of hit me at once. I never thought of myself as a bird person. I'd always enjoyed animals but had never seriously considered working with them. I started volunteering at Sarvey on a whim. It was a place I'd learned about when we found an orphaned raccoon on our porch. I'd wanted to volunteer at the time, but I lived too far for it to be a viable option. A good six years later I just happened to move in to the area and was looking for places to volunteer. Voila! From there I just kind of fell in love with birds the more I worked with them. When I learned of the internships I was pretty hesitant at first. Even though they were advertised as a learning position I was afraid that I didn't have enough experience. But after I talked to a few people, and received a lot of encouragement, I decided to go for it.
What were you most worried about going in to the internship?My lack of experience. I was excited and apprehensive all at once. I really wanted to do a great job but I was afraid that the six months I'd volunteered hadn't been enough to adequately prepare me for what I was getting into. I'd never worked through a baby season before. I'd heard that it was going to be pretty rough from others who had done it previously. Luckily, I was introduced to someone who would become my biggest resource early on, and I can't honestly thank her enough for everything she has done for me, and the wealth of information she provided me with throughout. It would have been a completely different experience without her guidance.
What is one animal from any part of the world that you wish you could work with?A Tawny Frogmouth hands down. They just have such ridiculous faces and they're pretty similar behaviorally to an owl. I've actually seen people confuse them as owls many, many times. (Kind of like how I see people confuse fully grown Saw-Whet owls as being babies because of their size.) I think they'd be a neat one to study and work with. The closest thing we have here in the Northwest are Nighthawks. They have pretty dopey faces themselves. We didn't get any this baby season, which is okay I suppose as I hear they're a pain to work with.
What advice would you give someone who is just becoming interested in the field, or an internship opportunity?There are a couple things actually. The most important thing for me personally was to be passionate and willing to learn. Be willing to go out of your way to learn about what you'll be working with. Ask a lot of questions and honestly spend some time volunteering if you can. Volunteering was the thing that set me up best for the internship. It probably doesn't hurt to have some experience working with or around the types of animals you'll be dealing with, but no matter how much experience you have, passion and determination for what you do will take you so very far.
How is the internship different than Volunteering?
It's a lot more specialized work than volunteering. You have a set schedule that you are expected to adhere to. You suddenly have real responsibility toward the animals you care for. As a volunteer you can go home at the end of the day without investing any emotion or extra thought into the goings on. As an intern, you often spend your evening wondering how your babies are faring while you aren't there.
What animal would you never in a million years allow into your house?Raccoons... My god, they'd get into everything.
Have you ever been tempted to eat food you've prepared in the prep kitchen?
I feel as if the correct answer should be, ew, no, not ever. Unfortunately I have had a moments where I was getting pretty hungry and I couldn't help but think that the animals eat better than I do. I have to say sometimes after cutting soft fruits for an hour they start to look pretty tempting
What was the coolest animal you raised and released?
That's a tough one really. There are many that I would consider cool. We raised a Common Flicker, A white breasted Nuthatch, A Western Scrub Jay, Tons of Cedar Waxwings, a nestful of Vaux Swifts, and tons of swallows. Those where the coolest for me personally.How has this opportunity prepared you for future work in wildlife rehabilitation?
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| Baby squirrels learning to eat from a bowl. They always have the formula cleaned from their fur after each feeding. |
