Linda's Canadian Adventure

Twice a week I volunteer at the Wildlife Rescue Association, a shelter for wild animals. There are a lot of birds such as ducks, gulls, crows, pigeons, geese, chickadees and sparrows, but also squirrels, raccoons, skunks, beavers, coyotes and the occasional bat.

The main duties of the volunteers are: cleaning out the pens (scooping poop), preparing diets (fish and dog food) and doing laundry. The staff makes sure you get to see and do something new every time such as weighing the animals, check them, give medication, physiotherapy (after an injured wing), checking for parasites (poop under the microscope) etc. Every time you get to see a new animal and learn something new, and I like that very much. The staff and volunteers are very nice, relaxed people with a sense of humor and they are always thankful that you came.

Last week we had a special raptor: a bald eagle. He probably flew into electrical wires and fell in a waste water base of the oil refinery. He was wounded and covered with oil. The wounds were taken care off and the oil washed off. After a week he was good to go. He was banded so we know who he is if comes in next time.

  
The eagle is on his back and covered, the feet are sticking in the air. Well, feet, they are enormous talons, very impressive!

I took a lot of other pictures but not of animals because I don’t want to stress them even more. You get to see a little bit of inside the WRA.

  
The mural and the desk at the entrance, where the sick and injured wildlife come in.

  
The animals are first examined in the examination room, most birds stay in a covered aquarium for the first days.

  
Volunteers at work: Hedy, Ian and Linda

  
The outside pens. For the songbirds a high space, for water birds a pond for their own in every pen.

  
The information booth at the entrance and the garden that attracts a lot of birds.

  
All the different seeds and the map of where the animals are located.