Hubert Warren is the ‘birdman' of New Brighton

Press, 8 September 1979, Page 15

Hubert Warren is the ‘birdman' of New Brighton

Sick and injured birds can go to a Christchurch man for help. Hubert Warren. of North Brighton, claims that he can cure birds of almost any disease — and that he can talk to some of them. Hubert Warren, aged 64, might be aptly named a “birdman.” He has devoted most of his life to his feathered friends. He has been curing sick birds over the last 30 years, ever since he became a

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member of the Forest and Bird Protection Society. His recipe for all diseases is simple: “Dip the bird in a mixture of iodine and water, to get rid of germs; plentv of warmth; a vitamin C'fruit extract; energy rich food and milk. It works every time.” Broken bones are no obstacle for him. either. A strong glue instead of a plaster cast was used for one case of broken ribs in a budgerigar. Mr Warrens knack of curing birds has led many people to bring their sick pets to him. He first became interested in the birds when. he came across two ducks that had Jbeen shot by young boys. ' The ducks were not dead, so he performed minor

surgery to remove the pellets. He claims many friends among the birds he has nursed back to health. "I could be walking along the street when a magpie will come up and say hello to me.” His interest extends further than providing a hospital for the sick and injured. He has been* a member of cage bird clubs for many years. A budgerigar enthusiast, he

has entered his birds in competitons for years. “This is the only year I haven't been in shows,” he says.

At the bottom of his garden is yet another hobby. “A breeding room” holds about 10 cages of nesting budgies. A radio blares out in one corner and the light is continually left on. What for? “They love listening to music and watching televison,” says Mr Warren. He greets his birds one by one. The light is on so that the birds can feed at night too, "They’re like babies, they must have a night feed. t The more they eat. the more goes into the egg.”

Mr Warren has studied the genetics of the birds.

He does not mate twc birds with the same colouring, and he can decide what coloured bird he wants before matching them up. Across from the breeding room is an aviary, full of more budgies, with the light on and another radio going for them. • “Hello Ma,” he greets one of the birds, and goes on to explain how some of the birds feed the older ones. “They won’t see another bird starve.”

Birds are not the only things in Mr Warren’s life. Cooking is another. He worked in Burwood Hospital as a cook for many years, and still makes birthday cakes for some of the nurses there. “I’m a sort of fairy godfather to them,” he says.

He is working on a cookery book with recipes dated from 1880 to 1920; such things as, “How to preserve eggs in sand.” Also, he is going to write a book on his birds. He can sketch, and his book will be self-illustrated. Bom in Ngaio, just north of Wellington, in 1916, Mr Warren moved to Christchurch where he has lived for most of his life. He left school in standard three after an illness, and never went back. “I reckon I learnt more when I was out of school than in,”