Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society  

My time at MARS was one I won’t soon forget. The days were long and the nature of the job was often physically and emotionally draining, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! The birds made me smile everyday without fail and the joy of watching patients recuperate (albeit slowly) made the work absolutely worth it. I feel extremely lucky to have lived those 2 months so immersed in and surrounded by wildlife. Although many of our cases were not happy ones, I feel I learned so much from all of them through simply observing them so closely on a day to day basis.

            I’m taking from this experience first and foremost a huge respect for mother (and in some cases, father) birds! We would put so much time, effort and careful monitoring into our nestlings and often it just wasn’t enough. Clearly, mother birds have their secrets… and an astounding amount of patience. I’ve also gained a lot of respect and admiration for volunteers and was continually floored by the sacrifices made and the great things accomplished by that small group of dedicated and caring people!

            I have now too a much more realistic view of death as an unavoidable part of wildlife rehab and life in general. I was forced to come to terms with the emotions that come with the death and pain we were so routinely faced with and I feel like a more stable and level headed person because of it. A difficult lesson, but one I am really grateful to have had.

            I miss the birds- all summer after I left when I heard a baby crow begging, my head would turn instantly and instinctively I would want to go feed it. Those gaping pink mouths now yield a lot of power over me. Since spending those weeks immersed in the birdy world of MARS, I find my senses more attuned to birds; to baby noises and social interactions of the birds in the world around me; things I better understand since my internship. Oh! And I got pooped on by a seagull today and it didn’t even faze me a bit!

            A huge thankyou to all the volunteers at MARS for their knowledge and kindness, to Maj for her patience and wealth of information and to the Birches for their hospitality and for the opportunity. Thanks also to the interns, Mayuko, Teela and Amanda for their friendship and conversation- I hope you are all doing wonderfully exciting things!