Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society  

Wow, Where have the last eight weeks gone? It seems like it was just yesterday that I was sitting on a plane with my parents on my way off to a big adventure. I had no idea what to expect when I got here which made me very nervous. All these questions filed my head like what if I’m not very good at this or what if I do a horrible job. Well those disappeared very quickly…

My first day at M.A.R.S.. I was instantly tossed into feeding a baby Pine Siskin that had been attacked by a dog. Some of its air sacs had ruptured so when he got excited he would blow up like a balloon. The cleaning and everything else didn’t come until the next day. But thanks to all the volunteers that were all so nice and helped me through my first couple of days. Maj had warned me on the phone when I first accepted the internship that this job involved a lot of cleaning. A LOT!!! But you get used to it pretty quickly. I was also told that there was a lot of hard work involved and with only one day off a week. I don’t know how Maj does it 365 days a year and only taking a day off when she gets the chance.

I was the first intern to arrive so my first three weeks were a bit lonely. However I wouldn’t have it any other way. It forced me to learn things at a faster pace because I was the only one there everyday besides Maj. Anytime a volunteer had a question they were relying on me for the answer. The first three weeks here pushed my confidence level up pretty high. I think it was around my second week that I got my first eagle, and only a few hours later the second eagle came in. It was a bit of a shock to see these birds so close up. And then the thought that I was going to have to hold one of these things set in. All I could think about were giant sharp feet and a rather large sharp beak. But Maj believed in me and had the confidence in me to do it so I did. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be.

I think my favorite experience at M.A.R.S. were the deer fawns. Those big doughy eyes looking back at you when you are bottle-feeding them. They are just so cute. One fawn in particular lovingly dubbed "Davie Crockett", because we found him just of Crockett Rd, was my favorite. He had been bitten on the tail by a dog and maggots were eating away bits of the tail. That was also my worst experience: picking the maggots out of poor Davie’s tail. But he was definitely a unique little deer, he was very gassy, and made noises like a little squeaky toy. But he was only one of eight fawns that we got in. We would only keep them for a short period of time and then send them off to be taken care of somewhere else. Because we got so many Maj encouraged the other two interns and myself to write a press release to raise money to feed the fawns. That was something I didn’t think I would ever have to do. But this huge feeling of accomplishment kind of rushes over you when you do something like that. You are writing something that hundreds of people might see. It’s a little intimidating at the same time. Getting seal pups was also something that I didn’t think I would ever get to do but have always wanted to do. Ever since I was little I wanted to be a marine biologist but that’s a little difficult when you live in a land locked state.

I think the worst part about doing this kind of work is when you get totally healthy animals in. And now that someone has kidnapped them you have to provide care for it until it can be released and knowing that you may not be doing have the job that’s its real parent would be doing. It’s actually a little heart breaking to think about these birds or other animals being taken away from there family and having all the stress of a human caring for them. This was a huge frustration for me. And the frequency at which it occurred was also frustrating.

I definitely enjoyed my days off. I went horse back riding, kayaking, shopping, and I think some more shopping. And of coarse you have to let Sandy take you hiking up Mt. Washington. I went to a barn dance for the first time ever. And I must say it was quite fun. There is also some down time on the days you are working. We usually went bull frog hunting. One day we even took the canoe out on the pond, which may not have been a great idea, since we weren’t really sure which person was supposed to steer. There was never a shortage of laughter. Everyone had a pretty good since of humor, which was great, because times did get a little rough. I got a little home sick from time to time but having people to talk to made it easier. I have made some great friends while I was here and can only hope that everyone will keep in touch after the experience. I feel that the memories I’ve made here will last a lifetime and has turned into the best summer ever. Even though there were some moments were I wanted to go home and now that I am leaving soon I just really don’t want to leave.

I just want to thank everyone for being so nice and especially Maj for letting me have this opportunity.

Julianne Shilling 
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, Oklahoma