Too many birds for volunteers?

Press, 30 May 1981, Page 20

Too many birds for volunteers?

The treatment of sick and injured birds is becoming too big a burden for a small voluntary group of concerned Christchurch residents.

Led by Mr Jim Baggstrom, a wildlife ranger, the group for several years has tried to provide a centre for the care of wounded birds. But the number of birds referred to the group for treatment now exceeds 500 a year, a figure which is getting beyond the scope of a “backyard operation.”

The latest example of a bird referred to Mr Baggstrom for treatment is a black shag which was found with a badly mutilated wing near Brookiands Lagoon on Sunday.

Mr Baggstrom said the bird appeared to have been tied up and used for target practice by someone with a shotgun.

Although the bird’s wing has not been broken, it is "in a mess,” and will probably

require careful treatment for "a long time.” Mr Baggstrom dressed and treated the wound and gave the bird antibiotics. It is being fed a protein-rich diet of fish and liver and has “every chance of recovering." " Few people realise what is involved in the care of sick and injured wild birds in Christchurch, he said. They were unaware it is on a purely voluntary task, paid for. almost entirely, from a few-personal pay packets. Almost all the- estimated 500 birds reported to the group each year are collected for treatment. Other travel costs include picking up food, taking specimens for analysis to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal Health Laboratory at Lincoln, and taking birds to release sites. Food must be provided for. an average of 20 birds, a week. Veterinary drugs were expensive, and to have a range on hand was beyond

the group’s means at present, Mr Baggstrom said. Another big expense was providing suitable protective housing for the birds. "We have relied too long on makeshift shelters.” he said/ Volunteers also spend many hours of their own time caring for birds. "Being called at 2 a.rd. because starlings are making a noise under someone’s roof is no laughing matter,” Mr Baggstrom said. To cope with the increased demand for bird care, the group wants to see a clinic established for the treatment; of sick and injured birds in Christchurch. The possibility of raising a geodesic dome to provide protected air space, as well as a covered area for individual cages and pens, is being investigated. Mr Baggstrom is “painfully aware" that the cost of such a structure would be prohibitive, and this is why the group has decided to ask the public for assistance.