Reflecting on the life of a wildlife rescuer
It’s hard to believe another year has rolled on by so quickly! It has been one with the obligatory mixture of highs and lows; we don’t expect anything else in the wildlife rescue world.
Today has been a scorching hot day and is still 35 degrees Celsius outside on the veranda at 9.36 pm as I write. Tomorrow will be cooler at least. The day has been steady with calls, but not as busy as I expected with the heat of today. Thankfully it is only one day.
This is the time of year many people are preparing for and looking forward to a hard earned holiday. Life for as at the shelter is quite different. We recognise and celebrate like the next household...but my kids know I can be called out at any time and it’s a given that this happens on Christmas Eve and Day, as well as at New Year.
Weekends for us are no different than weekdays, they can actually be busier as more people are out and about outdoors and find wildlife in trouble. For each and every one of you who stop to help and call to get assistance for wildlife, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are the first on site to help and we are the ‘paramedics’ who tend to the patients. It is a team effort by people who care which gives our critters a second chance to get back out into their wild homes.
Although busy, it’s a time I always feel at home in. The house is full of various baby birds, cheeping, chirruping, humming, although I cannot find words to describe the constant and penetrating sounds the galahs, cockatoos and corella babes make – maybe it’s akin to a creaking door only times ten the volume!
Our days start early with bird feeds and calls then after the first call-out I am often out on the road until well after dark. If I’m lucky, I may get time to come home to the shelter for a short while before hitting the road again. At the end of the day, I’m exhausted. There are nights I fall asleep with my boots on because an intended powernap has turned into a necessary sleep.
Sometimes I ponder what life may look like if wildlife rescue was not my life; it is difficult to even imagine. In that moment when I begin to think how much easier it could make things, the flip side always comes to mind – what would become of the wildlife who need a helping hand if I stopped and they found nowhere else to get help?
It is becoming harder and harder for wildlife shelters to operate. The costs have climbed markedly and because we are few and far between, we are all tired. If I want to be reminded of the reason I do it, I only have to think of the Tawny Frogmouth chicks and Rosella chicks now grown and preparing for release. The pelican from the fish farm being released tomorrow as his wounds are healed. The native ducks who are flying in and out from the rehab dam since being released and the ducklings in light boxes inside who will grow to join them.
I guess for me the busy season means long days, utter exhaustion and, most of all, the hope that I feel for the world when there is new life all around me.
A very special shout out to my family for putting up with shelter life and for all the work they put in tending the critters while I attend rescues and pick ups, it would be impossible without them.
An extra loud shout out for the kind hearted support we receive in the form of donations. We couldn’t keep our doors open without you all. Deb and I are always humbled by the support we receive.
I wish you all a safe and wonderful Christmas/New Year from all of us here at Bohollow. Bring on the adventures of 2025!
