Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society  

My six week internship at Mountainaire Avian Rescue is going to be really hard to summarize – I had so many new experiences each day, it is impossible to include everything! The amount of hands-on animal experience I gained through this internship is amazing. I learned not only handling and care of the animals, but also aspects of fundraising and public education involved in running the society.

             Although I had some prior experience with small mammals and song birds, I had never dealt with some of the larger raptors that I encountered at Mountainaire. I was especially thrilled to work with the eagles. They are such beautiful and powerful birds – it is amazing to think I have been so close to them! We had two eaglets in the first couple weeks that I was there – a brother and sister that had fallen from their nest. While the female was unhurt, unfortunately her little brother had broken his wing. His wing was so badly fractured that it was not possible to repair it. It was very sad that we could not see him released – but sometimes euthanasia is another form of release for an animal from its pain. Shortly after we were able to put the female chick back in her nest – it was awesome to have her recover and be reunited with her parents! I also really enjoyed working on a project monitoring eagle nest trees in the area. On one occasion I was lucky enough to witness one of my chicks flying for the first time! It was amazing to see her first flight! She was so graceful in the air and then when it came time to land she wasn’t quite so graceful! Eagles are such beautiful animals and I now have a new respect for their ability to cope with human interference in their habitat.

             I also enjoyed working with the seal pups and becoming involved with a program to educate the public about these animals. Although some of the pups we rescued were actually abandoned and in need of help, many of them were “kidnapped” by people who didn’t know any better. While it could be frustrating to see perfectly healthy pups taken from the beach, it was also rewarding to hear from members of the public who had seen our signs and brochures about the pups! I really liked working with the seals – learning how to tube feed them and burp them was so cute! It was great to be able to help them before sending them to Vancouver or Saltspring where they could be rehabilitated.

             Another aspect of the internship that I really enjoyed was being able to work at some of the vet clinics in the area. I was very grateful to have this experience because I am planning on going into veterinary medicine myself. I found all the surgeries really interesting and found all the staff members at the clinics very friendly and happy to explain procedures. Thanks to Puntledge, Sunrise, Shamrock and VanIsle Veterinary Clinics! I also was able to work with some deer fawns during my internship. We looked after one fawn that had pneumonia and could not stand up properly – she was called “Spooks” because she was so shy. Ann (the other intern) and I would go every morning and every night for a week to give her antibiotic injections. It was great to see her recover from her illness and join the other fawns! Thanks to Pat and Jan for having us come over to work with the fawns!

             I enjoyed working with all the animals, from the big eagles to the tiny hummingbirds! It is impossible to pick favourites, since all the animals were special in their own ways! I found it very isolating at first because I was the only intern for the first three weeks, but once Ann came it was great! The hours could be long and the work demanding, it was very rewarding to see animals that I had looked after released back to the wild! I would like to thank Keith and Maj (and of course Reuben and Dixie!) for letting me stay with them and giving me the opportunity to work as an intern at MARS! I would also like to thank the amazing volunteers at MARS for being so friendly and supportive: Sandy, Michelle, Diane, Donna, Reg, Laurie and Linda! I have definitely learned a lot from this experience!

 Caitlin Wright
University of Victoria – Biology Student