February 27, 2006

• Yet another attempt at blogging. Who knows, maybe Il someday find the time to blog on a more regular basis.

  
  

   

  
  

  Yesterday, I accompanied Ren嶪 to the bird shelter and completed my first full shift there. I not a regular volunteer, however. Until now, I often showed up at the bird shelter at the end of Ren嶪 Saturday afternoon shift, and every now and then I did a few chores there such as mopping the floor or filling up the birdseed bowls before locking up for the evening. And last spring, I got to feed numerous young blackbirds, but that doesn really require a degree in nuclear phyics, all you have to do is put some food on a stick and offer it to them. Which pretty much sums up my experience as an animal welfare volunteer. But since her regular colleagues had fallen ill in the course of this week, I gladly came along to help and see if I had what it takes to tame a sparrow or two.

  
  

   

  
  

  The first casualty turned into a rather traumatic experience for me. A beautiful, but totally limp barn owl was carried in by someone, and died shortly afterwards, cause unknown. I know that this happens all the time, and that Mother Nature can be an unforgiving bitch, but I still have to get used to the idea that not every animal can be nursed back to perfect health. I better get used to this if I going to do my bit at the bird shelter, but Il never be at peace with the fact that so much of these beautiful animals die because of human interference.

  
  

   

  
  

    

  
  

  (l.) unfortunate barn owl, (r.) fierce creatures

  
  

   

  
  

  So far, bird flu hasn reached our borders but confirmed cases have already been found in the countries surrounding us. Germany has dozens of confirmed cases of infected wild birds, and a French poultry farm was virtually eradicated when 11.000 turkeys had to be destroyed after a few animals had succumbed to bird flu. And since Germany is a mere 1.5-hr drive away, and you can reach Paris in less than 6 hours from where we are, you would be incredibly stupid to ignore the danger. But with the right amount of common sense and proper precautions, things can be held well under control.

  
  

   

  
  

  On a lighter note, the duckling that somehow managed to survive an early, wintry start seems to be doing fine, and has taken an active interest in the human activity around him/her. The four young Egyptian geese however, dive into a corner and transform into a feathery, shapeless mass every time someone comes within a 3 ft radius. I don find them particularly attractive, but they do possess a certain ute?factor that is shared by most young animals.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  (l.) early duckling, (r.) panicky young Egyptian geese

  
  

   

  
  

  A special attraction for me is seeing Ren嶪 in action, handling even the biggest and meanest birds without batting an eyelid, whereas this particular afternoon, I was a complete failure at force-feeding a weakened, but wayward pigeon.

  
  
  Video Sharing at DropShots.com
  

  But despite my ineptitude as a fledgling (no pun intended) bird shelter volunteer, Ren嶪 and I know we make an excellent team, always have. Wee never at each other throat whatever the pressure, we don second-guess, and we respect each other expertise in various fields. Come to think of it, converting our lives into a reality tv-show would be as interesting as seeing grass grow.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  • 2:29 am
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