A “bug board” tracks the crickets, beetles and mealworms being bred in-house.īoard chairman and long-time volunteer Kevin Ferguson mashes up some peas to mix with spinach and ground poultry pellets for the ducklings. Multiple freezers store vast quantities of key ingredients such as peas, corn, spinach, marinara mix and (apologies to the squeamish) baby mice and chicks for carnivorous raptors and hawks. The berry consumption alone by kererū fledglings, prone to clumsy crash-landings, is off the charts.Ī reference folder marked “Diet Book!” lists the specific requirements for dozens of different species, from shags to songbirds. One of the biggest costs is food for the birds, which chow through cubic metres of fruit and vegetables every month. The financial position remains so precarious, a fundraising appeal was recently launched to keep the doors open. ![]() Run by a handful of permanent staff and a roster of volunteers, its operating expenses are more than $600,000 a year - that’s about $100 per bird. However, it still relies on donations and grants to stay afloat. More than 6000 wild birds are admitted to BirdCare Aotearoa every year, and a detailed medical record is kept on all of them. Under the helm of internationally recognised wildlife specialist Lynn Miller, who recently moved on after four years as general manager, it’s now evolved into a world-class hospital and rehab facility. “Often they don’t make it, which is why we give them heat lamps, so they can stay nice and toasty.”Ĭertified by the Department of Conservation (DoC) to handle and rehabilitate wild birds, BirdCare Aotearoa is run by a charitable trust that was bequeathed the Green Bay property in 2012 for use as a bird rescue centre. A common cause of death for ducklings is hypothermia if they become separated from their mother or are abandoned. Wijaya carefully transfers a gaggle of black-and-yellow-striped paradise ducklings into a bath of warm water, where they race around splashing excitedly before being dried out back in their cage. On the day we visit, the patient roster ranges from day-old ducklings to a gangly cygnet still covered in the soft grey feathers that will be shed as it transforms into a black swan. Photo / Jason OxenhamĪn entire ward at the hospital is dedicated to seabirds and waterfowl. Often, their stomachs are found to be full of plastic.Īn orphaned duckling with an injured leg is given laser therapy to reduce swelling and inflammation. Seabirds are snagged by fish hooks or become entangled in fishing lines. A baby kererū that was admitted after yet another cat attack wasn’t so lucky, dying from organ failure. Given oxygen, medication and subcutaneous fluid therapy, the wee native owl spent two months in an outdoor aviary regaining its weight and strength and was then released back on to the island.Ī kākā with spinal trauma and an injured wing from flying into a window was treated in intensive care and then in a general ward for almost three months before it fully recovered. So did a ruru that was hit by a car on Waiheke Island. One suffered a punctured wing the other ruptured its abdominal airspace. Two fledgling riroriro each weighing barely six grams - little more than a teaspoon of sugar - were brought in one day apart after separate cat attacks in two different locations. In the peak season, there’s often a long queue of people waiting with sick or injured birds to be assessed in the triage room, and there’s a heartbreaking story behind every one. So it takes a lot of commitment.”īased in Green Bay, New Zealand’s largest hospital and rehabilitation centre for wild birds manages more than 6000 admissions each year. “I asked if she was all right, and she told me she’d been feeding the birds every 10 minutes, from 7am to 7pm, for the last three weeks. “I came in one day and a staff member in the nursery looked like a zombie,” says Anna Schimmel, an Auckland wedding dress designer who volunteers at BirdCare Aotearoa and joined the trust board in July. The daycare facilities are excellent, too, with room service on demand. Laser therapy to reduce inflammation spray baths to cleanse and refresh. A complimentary soft toy provided as company for solo guests. Squid and seafood marinara on a menu tailored to specific dietary requirements, with berries and homemade apple sauce for dessert. ![]() Nestled in native bush, it’s the type of retreat that would get a five-star review on TripAdvisor. ![]() Writer Joanna Wane and photographer Jason Oxenham go behind the scenes at BirdCare Aotearoa, New Zealand’s largest wild bird hospital and rescue centre, which is facing tough times in 2023. BirdCare Aotearoa's clinical manager Lynn Lewis-Beron assesses the condition of an injured heron.
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