A baby bird is squawking at you. You bend down to find that it is struggling to get back up.
‘What kind of parent would leave their child like this?’ you think in disgust.
There’s no one around and no sign of the bird’s parents either.
What do you do?
a) Call RSPCA
b) Call WIRES
c) Take it home and try to figure something out
d) Walk away
If you chose a), b) or c), you may be in fact, guilty of bird-napping. This unusual yet common crime involves an unwitting local ‘rescuing’ baby birds they see on the ground, thinking they’re in trouble.
But wildlife workers say the fledgings could actually be having a rest between attempts to fly.
Brigette Sharp, an Inner-West WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue and
Education Service) volunteer of two years, can understand this simple mistake but is frustrated with the increasing number of calls about baby birds.
“I know [the locals] are just trying to help but the fact that we have to take every call seriously and then go to the location to see the animal for ourselves, is becoming a little irritating,” she says.
“Locals need to understand that at this time of year, young birds are trying out their flying skills and they land on the ground so they have to build up muscles to fly up. It’s a fitness they have to build.”
WIRES received over 100 chicks and fledgings into care last month – most of which were mistaken to be hurt or lost.
“Some of them had fallen out of the nest or hurt themselves, but most of them were happily flapping around on the ground following a practice flight.”
One Strathfield ‘bird-napper’ panicked when she saw a bird lying on her front lawn. Emily Sinclair, 28, was on her way home from shopping when she found a baby magpie squirming in the grass.
“The cute little thing couldn’t get up so I got a box from home and took it inside…I didn’t know what to do next so I called RSPCA but they told me to call WIRES.”
While Emily waited for WIRES, she quickly ‘Googled’ tips for taking care of a baby bird. She wrapped the magpie and left it in a cardboard box with easy access to water.
“I did the best that I could in the situation and I genuinely thought I was saving the poor bird,” she says.
Within a minute of the arrival of a WIRES volunteer, Emily was corrected.
“[The WIRES volunteer] told me I did a great job of keeping it warm and contained but there was nothing wrong with the bird…I felt like an idiot but I definitely learned a huge amount in a short space of time.
“Probably the main thing I learnt was that RSPCA and WIRES are not the same. RSPCA deals with domestic animals and WIRES with native animals.”
Since then, Emily has had no more encounters with baby birds but has told many of her friends and family of the episode.
“My friends find it hilarious but they were shocked too that there was nothing wrong with the bird…I guess it all worked out well because [my friends and family] have all learned something too.”
But Emily isn’t the only one mistaking animals for being in danger. Brigette explains that WIRES receives many calls from locals confusing animals.
“We get lots of calls saying that [the rescuer]’s got a kookaburra and when you go out there and see for yourself – It’s actually a feral pigeon.
I tell them “You’ve got a kookaburra” but they don’t believe you,” she laughs.
“People also think they have a snake but it’s actually a blue-tongue lizard. We get lots of birds in the cuckoo family where people think they are raptors (hawks) and also lots of plastic bags being mistaken as animals. People find a lot of plastic bags flapping in the trees or in the ground and sometimes they’re too scared to go down and check what it is, so they call us.
The funniest incident was a very distressed call I received a couple of months ago. The person thought there was a snake in their backyard but it turned out to be a wooden snake carving her neighbour had accidentally thrown in her yard.”
These simple mistakes may be funny, but Brigette says most of them are a waste of time, money and effort.
“Again, it’s great that locals are helping their environment as much as they can but we would really love it if they could take a picture message and send it in or do a little more research before calling us because we do have to go to the location regardless.”
Despite these errors in judgement, WIRES do treat wildlife animals regularly. Their most common calls concern rainbow lorikeets, magpies, brushtail and ringtail possums, and bats. After receiving a call, WIRES try to find a volunteer who is close by and can rescue the animal or take the animal to a vet or the WIRES office.
WIRES is Australia’s biggest wildlife rescue service and has a network of over 2,400 rescuers and wildlife rehabilitiators in 27 branches across New South Wales. Brigette and other volunteers help almost 50,000 sick, injured, orphaned or displaced native animals every year.
WIRES also acts as a voice for native animals, lobbying councils over issues related to their welfare, their humane treatment and their conservation. Whenever there is a disaster such as flood or fire or drought, WIRES members are also called on to help the native wildlife affected by these disasters.
With so many duties, WIRES volunteers spend as much of their free time as possible helping our wildlife. The Inner-West branch has over 100 members and receives five to 20 calls a day, with the bulk of calls coming in Spring and Summer where many animals are more active.
Brigette and other WIRES members work with their local vets, particularly with euthanising processes.
“Before we euthanise anything we would speak to an experienced person beforehand, most likely the local vet, to know that was the right thing to do. We also deal with [the vets] in our community. The vets donate their time, money and equipment, and we mainly consult with them before deciding the best outcome for the animal.”
But Cassey, a part-time nurse at Animal Tracks Veterinary Clinic, Homebush, does not want to work with WIRES.
“We always get a lot of calls from WIRES and they come in a lot but we have our own clinic here and we have our own customers to deal with.
I know what they’re doing is great but we’re just overloaded with appointments and we’re beginning to run out of space.”
Cassey hopes more funding for WIRES will help the organisation not to rely heavily on local veterinary clinics.
“If WIRES just had more funding, it would take the stress off both of us and we [WIRES and Animal Tracks] can help each other – rather than one leaning on the other.”
Brigette agrees that WIRES needs more financial support but stresses that they have not burdened local vets whatsoever.
“We know how busy they are so we try to keep out of their hair as much as possible but there are times when we have no other option…And at the end of the day, it’s saving one extra animal that matters, not who’s relying on who.”
Brigette’s love for animals and wildlife has driven her to volunteering three days a week despite raising two boys.
“I’m either at home or at WIRES, so you’ll always know where to find me.
I think I love animals so much because they’re amazing in the way they survive and can create a community just like us. The sad thing is that natural forces or us humans interfere and often harm them. We are both their friend and foe.”
Brigette still remembers her first and most memorable rescue.
“A couple of years ago I got a call for a white heron in Pyrmont near the Fish Markets. It was in the water and it had fishing lines wrapped around its foot. It was very thin and we thought it was going to die so it was brought back with us and for the first week it was basically touch and go. After that, it couldn’t stand up and we had to help it eat.
It slowly started standing up and everyday it got a bit better. We kept going day by day until about the fifth day I knew I had it. It was a great feeling. I released it and I gave a little check to see how he was going. It’s just amazing the way he was flying. I know this sounds silly but by looking at his eyes, he knew me and I knew him.”
Brigette says anyone can feel the satisfaction she feels when saving an animal. With less than two per cent of its funding from the NSW Government, WIRES relies on donations from the public to fund its free service to the community.
Locals don’t always have to donate money – they can give old towels, blankets and even their woodworking skills for making possum boxes. Brigette says people can also help by writing letters to the government and councils in relation to animal welfare and animal environment issues or by planting native (instead of exotic) trees in their garden to attract native animals, providing them with food and housing.
Brigette says the best way to avoid bird-napping is to record the exact location of the bird to potentially reunite it with its parents and doing a little research before potentially calling WIRES or your local vet.
So what do you do the next time you see a baby bird on the ground?
