02 Aug SPCA for Monterey Intro
A few weeks ago I began training for a volunteer position at the local SPCA’s Wildlife Center. It’s a really amazing thing they’ve got going on there, and I’ve been excited to get involved. Most weeks they take in dozens of injured or unattended wild animals (mostly birds) and rehabilitate them until they can be safely released back into the wild. These include owls, seagulls, falcons, passerines–everything! They have the facilities to take in day-old chicks and nurture them to adulthood, all without ‘imprinting’ them.
The training began with a general presentation about caring for wild animals. They discussed various diseases animals carry, common species ‘admitted’ to the center, and general procedures for volunteering. We then had ‘Baby Bird’ training which was specifically intended to bring volunteers up to date on the treatment of young birds. During ‘bird season’–spring to late summer–the main work at the Wilderness Center is caring for baby birds. It’s actually incredible the amount of birds that come through the center.
Last Saturday was my first time actually on sight–the Wilderness Center is closed to the general public for obvious reasons, and I hadn’t yet visited. The training tour lasted about
I’m really looking forward to this work. It’s only a few hours a week, but it will allow me to get closer to these animals than one normally could. an hour and a half, and I was essentially shown all of the tasks and policies with which I’m soon to be well aquatinted with. In this short time I stood feet away from a mature Brown Pelican, three Great Horned Owls, a Northern Harrier, and a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk being fed by staff–all very cool.
No Comments