Wildlife hospitals near Vancouver are seeing a huge influx of patients due to climate change, but staff and volunteers remain determined to work miracles
Words byROBERTA STALEYPhotos byTALLULAH
WILDLIFE HOSPITAL ●
Inside aviary one, a roughhewn wooden building full of covered cages, a small speaker emits an array of bird calls, from the lyrical trilling of songbirds to the strident squawks of jays. The piped-in chirps, cheeps and clacks are a critical part of helping prepare abandoned infant birds for release into the wild. The youngsters include two Steller’s jays, covered in winsome fledgling frizz.
The siblings were rescued 20 days ago by a motorist. Unseasonably ferocious spring rainstorms had gripped British Columbia’s Pacific coastal region, and the two-day-old fledglings were blown onto the tarmac, along with their nest. They were rushed to the Wildlife Rescue Association (WRA) of British Columbia, where volunteers and staff sprang into action to keep the tiny creatures alive. A nest of blankets with a heater underneath kept them warm, while their meals were a ground-up slurry of insects and mealworms, administered via syringe every 15 minutes over a 12-hour period, mimicking the natural feeding cycle.
The chicks survived, thanks to vigilant care that included daily health and weight checks, with the handlers placing the tiny birds in a light cotton sack to reduce exposure to humans (and prevent habituation). One method of determining weight gain is examining the pectoral muscle, or keel, through the sack. “It shouldn’t be jutting out; it should be nice and round,” says Linda Bakker, co-executive director of the WRA.
At three weeks of age, the jays still can’t fly. They are housed together in a cage that, inside, is reminiscent of a miniature jungle gym, with branches for hopping on and food placed at different levels to encourage self-feeding. As soon as they moult into the glossy black and fluorescent blue of adulthood, they’ll be transferred to flying cages to strengthen their wings. They’ll also be taught foraging skills, with mealworms and insects hidden just below the surface of the dirt floor. Schooling them in bird communication is one thing “we can’t teach them” – hence the piped-in stereo recordings, says Bakker.
It was a miracle that the Steller’s jays lived – one of thousands performed every year at the WRA. The facility, created in 1979,
