Volunteer Me

At the SB Wildlife Care Network -- now a volunteer.

Last night was my first night feeding baby birds, mostly crows. I had shown up to see the training video and Sam handed me an apron and I started learning to feed the crows right away. It's not that hard at all once you get a little used to it. We did have one little fluffball screech owl baby. The cutest thing I've ever seen. He was pretty roughed up with lice and these horrible flatflies which were pretty big and sucking on whatever little bit of flesh he had under that fluff. This meant that the baby owl probably had been exposed to the ground for awhile, which isn't good. I helped hold him while Sam hydrated him. Sam also tried to feed him, but he wasn't into it. Don't know if he made it through the night. Then I helped change tshirt nests in the crow cages and washed some food dishes and syringes. Sam knows all about bird diets and medications. I met Fred, a longtime volunteer there. He was feeding the smaller birds. I asked him if he dreamed about birds. Sam laughed at that. They talked a little bit about the raptor center in Ojai. I hope to go there soon.

Cutest baby bird of the day! Three baby snowy plovers in an aquarium eating sand fleas from lumps of sand brought from Coal Oil Point. Too adorable with their skinny little chicken wings and fuzzy heads.

It was a little after 8 when I left the bird nursery and I hadn't eaten since lunch and had snuck a surf in between work and birdcare, so I was starved, but resisted the urge to go to Chicken Ranch next door. It's too weird chomping on bird parts after playing with their cute fuzzy alive parts.