Some Realities .. Long Post and Not For Everyone

[TAWhatley]

This will be a depressing post, so don't read it if you don't care to.

I've been reading some very touching posts in a couple of threads where members are pretty much baring their souls .. that's gutsy on a discussion board, but I can feel the concern and hurt behind the posts.

In my case, baby bird season has only just started here in Southern California and though I've been doing this for a good number of years, I am finding myself to be very susceptible to the hurt and sadness of each phone call and bird that I get when things don't go right.

Yesterday was a difficult day in some ways and a good day in others. My friend, Melinda, got the four little fuzzy yellow ducklings from Eisenhower Park and got them here .. they are fine and doing well .. that is good. Little 9 Lives pigeon was saved and gotten here, and that is good. I found the Coot with the fishing line and broken leg .. that was both good and bad. The jury is still out on that one.

The little sparrow that a very nice lady had found and cared for overnight got it here yesterday afternoon, and though it was still alive, I knew that it probably wouldn't be within an hour or two. Even though the lady had done everything right, the little one was pale and weak on arrival and died about 45 minutes after getting here.

I also got a call from another lovely woman who had rescued a truly tiny sparrow (complete with egg fragments on the body) who fell out of the sky at her feet. She took it home, did her research, found the StarlingTalk site and was also doing everything right for this tiny being. She was going to bring it to me this afternoon but called at about noon to say the the little was no longer thriving .. failing to gape for food, only wanting to sleep, and breathing heavily. She asked me what to do to save the litte nestling .. I've never felt so stupid or helpless. All I could do was assure her she had done everything right and NOT to try and make an hour trip down to me with the tiny bird .. just leave it be and care for it as she had been and hope for the best. I asked her to let me know if the little one rallied and have not heard .. I am fairly sure that means the little one did not make it.

Also yesterday came the call from an older lady in Huntington Beach about a banded racing pigeon that a cat had gotten in her back yard. Bless her, she ousted the cat and saved the pigeon but could not get the bird to me. I made arrangements for her to get it to my rabbit rescue friend, Cindy (who really has her hands full at the West Street Basin), and Cindy brought me the pigeon last night. It's got some significant injuries but will be OK. The owner is no longer down here in So. Cal. and can't be reached, so I guess I've got me another pigeon.

Then came the call from the Smith twins who were on duty as volunteers at Laguna Niguel Regional Park .. they were HYSTERICAL .. rightly so .. they had been called to come and get a Canada Goose with a broken neck .. I could hear the goose screaming in the background and hear it slapping its wings to try and get up .. this was gut wrenching and horrific for me, and the twins who are new to this, were just about catatonic. They are troopers, though, and got the goose to a vet to be humanely euthanized. These are the same ladies who brought me Donald, the Pekin duck, who died. They are learning and learning very painfully .. I feel for them.

Then came a knock at the front door at about 9:30 last night .. Here's a nice looking young man asking if I'm the Duck Lady .. Well, yes, I am .. why do you ask. Says he .. My son and I were at the duck pond and we saved this one who was being killed by the others .. OK fine, says I .. let's see. This was a male Pekin duck who had been gang raped by the others to the point that he was shaking and quaking like crazy, was prolapsed, was hypothermic, and very near death. While I would have liked to ask the young man what he was doing in the park after hours, I just had to be grateful that he was there and saved the duck.

Today brought two more sparrows that are thus far doing well.

Then there's all the "ducklings in my swimming pool" calls .. there are too many of those to even begin to talk about. Most callers are receptive to the advice given. I think there were 5 such calls today.

Here on Pigeon-Talk, I so appreciate all our members who try their very, very best to offer the best of advice to those in need and to just try and keep the rest of us crazies going. I am also very grateful to all who do hands on rescue and rehabbing .. it's tough.

Terry

[feralpigeon]

Quite a post, Terry, and my response will seem pretty short and pathetic after
reading your thread. I just want to say thank you for all that you do where you live and on all of the bird forums that you watch over and are a member of. You must be just too exhausted from your day and I wish you a good night's sleep and some comforting dreams to make the sleep that more restful. You are an inspiration for so many folks here and on the other forums.

fp

[Feefo]

Hi Terry,

I am so sorry that you are hurting, you had some particularly distressing cases one after another. So far I have not had a day anywhere near as heart wrenching as yours and I hope I never have.

Thank you for being there for all those poor birds, two of them will stick in my mind for a very long time.

Cynthia

[Trees Gray]

Terry,

I am so sorry you are on "overload." I always think about you and worry about what is going on when you don't post, because I know you are very busy with distressful calls of our injured wildlife.

Thank you for doing one of the hardest jobs in the world, my hat is off to you.

[TerriB]

You bring comfort and healing to thousands of animals a year and have been doing this for years. You do this at great cost to your own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Because you know these animals so well, you feel their pain and confusion. Your empathy and consideration for their welfare is very much appreciated. With your wealth of knowledge and easy manner, you are a tremendous power for good in this world. It does make a difference.

[Maggie-NC]

Terry, I almost couldn't finish reading your post because it was so sad. I "have been there and done that" so I know only too well what you're going through.

What a lot of people who don't rehab don't realize is that it is not only the one on one care rehabbers give birds but the extraneous things that a rehabber has to do such as getting the birds to vets, other rehabbers, cleaning cages, preparing special foods for each variety, etc. It is a never-ending job even if the birds are healthy but extra painful and sad when you have those that are sick or wounded.

I "cared" for probably 1000 songbirds during the years that we rehabbed them plus to date about 325-350 pigeons. You can't do both and do it well. I had to stop rehabbing songbirds because I was literally getting sick from so much work and concern. It is not an easy thing to say "no" to someone when a bird is brought to you but until there are more rehabbers, the ones who continue to take them in, will do so until they reach a point they can take no more.

In our area, there were few bird rehabbers. One of my friends probably rehabs at least 500 songbirds each season, in addition to waterfowl, pigeons, even some mammals and I don't know how she does it. It has helped that a rehab facility, Piedmont Wildlife, opened a couple of years ago in Durham NC and they have helped with the burden tremendously.

I can only say to you that I know what you're going through and admire you so much. You are a wonderful, wonderful person.

[Charis]

Terry,
I read your post last night and I needed time to process before responding.
Haunted me all night . Helplessness and the pain of fellow creatures tends to do that to me.
Your pain I feel clean to the core of me.
The only respite for a rehabber is when it does go well, a wound heals, the antibotic works, a life saved, a successful release ...
The difference you make in this world is huge and I admire you so.
I really hope this day is better.
I'm thinking of you.

[TAWhatley]

Thank you all for your posts, compassion, and understanding. We did have a small miracle in that the tiny little sparrow that I didn't think would make it .. the lady brought it to me this morning. It is extremely dehydrated and definitely not out of the woods by any means, but at least it rallied last night and is still alive. On a sad note, the cat caught pigeon was dead this morning. I was so wrong about the prognosis for that beautiful bird.

Hoping for a slow day here ..

Terry

[Lovebirds]

Terry, I also had to read your post a couple of times to take it all in and it was difficult both times........
I can't even begin to imagine what a day like that must be like. I go all to pieces with ONE hurt bird that belongs to ME.
All I can say is thank God that there are people like you in this world. I know it must be hard to loose some and hard to see the pain and anguish that the human race can cause a "lowly" (in their eyes) animal. But just remember what a difference you've made in all the lives over the years and how many MORE precious lives would have been lost, if not for you.
Bless you for what you do and you know that we ALL love you to pieces....

[stephie]

Hi Terry

I'm sorry that you are hurting... I can't relate on the same level as your fellow rehabbers (I can't even imagine what you guys go thru and how hard you work every day) but this seems like a good time to remind you that you are a real hero, not only to your feathered friends but to all of us, too.

It's obvious that you possess an incredible amount of strength and compassion, and that you're just an all-around amazing, beautiful soul. This is obvious not only in the tireless effort you make to help birdies in need, but in the way you take the time to provide all of us with such wonderful guidance and support, and especially in the way you do it all with so much patience, kindness, and class.

It must be very painful when things don't work out, but even those who don't make it must be very grateful to live out their last hours with dignity, in the company of someone who loves them... I know that's how I'd like to go.

I hope you receive the comfort you need to heal your hurt, and that the miracles you witness and facilitate every day bring you enough joy to keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

[Reti]

Terry, you are my hero. I am always wondering how you do it, so many babies, so much heartache. I can't even imagine what would have happened to all the critters in your area if it wasn't for you. And not only the critters in your area but also from all over the country.
Bless you. You are a saint.

Reti

[TAWhatley]

Thanks Renee and Stephie. I really appreciate your most kind posts.

The tiny sparrow is still with us. S/he is not doing really well but is still alive and eating and pooping. The appetite isn't anywhere near what it should be, but I'm still hoping that things will take a big turn for the better.

It has been a slow day here so far, and I'm thankful for that!

Terry

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

It has been a slow day here so far, and I'm thankful for that!
Terry

That is what I want to hear, you need a break. Hope you continue to have a slow day and relax a bit.

[maryjane]

Terry, you really are a hero. I have been amazed since day one at all of the things you do. There have been days when I've felt very overwhelmed and have thought I couldn't do it all, and then I came here and hear all the stories about the lives you save each day, and the inevitable deaths you help to make comfortable, and the people you have helped and comforted and advised. They say God never gives you more than you can handle, and he must have the utmost faith in you to take care of his needy creatures, even though to you it must feel like too much some days. Hang in there and keep up the wonderful work, and I hope you get some help somehow around there!

[Garye]

I think we just need to get a great big farm and buy property about the size of a state and there we all could go with our bird friends and live in peace. I give the rehabbers credit - it's tough to get through helping one bird, never mind many.

You guys do your best and that's all we can ask for.