Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society  

For the past five years I have been working towards my goal of attending veterinary school. I have spent the majority of those years in small animal clinics and humane societies, but had little experience working with wildlife. I wanted to learn more about working with wildlife before applying to veterinary school to see if a wildlife medicine program would be a potential path for me. I started searching on the Internet for wildlife internships and that is how I came across Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (M.A.R.S.). After almost completing two months of work at M.A.R.S. I am very happy with my experience. Although the work has definitely been challenging and there are a few things I would do differently, the animals, people, and beautiful surroundings have made for a wonderful summer. I can now confidently say that I plan to incorporate wildlife into my career.

The responsibilities of the interns varied greatly and once I was able to establish some sort of order or routine to my day, the tasks seemed a lot more manageable. The first several weeks were by far the worst because there was no clear communication as to who would train me, and which jobs I should or should not be doing. To start with, I found it overwhelming how many things needed to be done during the day and they changed each day. It was important to learn what was most important because otherwise I felt like I was getting nowhere. I also quickly learned that I need to write things down. Each day I was greeted with a list of about twenty tasks to be completed and was unable to keep track of them all without a formal system. After those first stressful weeks passed, I discovered what worked best for me, but I do feel that better communication would have fostered a smoother transition into the center.

Days at the center usually begin at 8:00 am although it can vary depending upon the animals in at the time and the care needed. I would always start my day by reviewing the list of patients on the Clinic board, updating the volunteer (if any), walking around to check on all of the animals, and then starting the food preparation and treatments. The most critical and usually most recent patients were attended to first and then the others would follow. After all the animals were fed, cleaned, and treated, the laundry, dishes, and cages were cleaned. Depending upon how busy the day was and how many volunteers were working, I would try and grab a quick lunch somewhere between 12:00 and 1:00 pm. The afternoon was a time to tackle big projects such as needed construction, power washing, and logging, although the animals still need to be fed/treated throughout the day. Those are the major daily tasks; the days are also filled with many phone calls/pages, new patients to admit, and driving to surrounding areas to rescue animals, pick up needed supplies, go to veterinary appointments, and perform animal releases. After all that was done I usually whipped together a quick dinner between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. The days ended anywhere from 7:00 to 11:00 pm depending upon the caseload, but while I was here, usually we were done around 9:00 pm. Occasionally we had animals (seal pups and a Marbled Murrelet) that needed to be fed throughout the evening, so some work was done during the night as well.

A huge part of what makes M.A.R.S such a wonderful facility is all of the great people that are involved with it. I have never seen so many kind-hearted people gathered in one location. Maj and Keith are amazingly passionate and knowledgeable about their work. They provided the interns with accommodations such as a comfortable living area, laundry, television, VCR, radio, phone, internet, and use of a vehicle when needed/available. It was wonderful to have another intern around to have meals with, watch movies, and just hang out after work. In addition, the volunteers were all very kind, easy to work with, and made a huge difference, even though some were only able to come for a couple hours. Several of them were nice enough to invite me out to join them on my days off! One day I was lucky enough to get a helicopter ride with Norm, a pilot who donates his time to transport animals, and see the surrounding area from above. In addition to the volunteers, all the local veterinarians I came in contact with were spectacular. It was incredible that they donated their time, their staff’s time, equipment and facilities to help wildlife. As a prospective veterinary student, it was inspiring. The clinic that I spent the most time at was Sunrise Veterinary Clinic. Their sign reads, "A small friendly clinic" and every word of that statement is true. I have worked in three different clinics, none of which had a staff that compared to the one at Sunrise. Even on the busiest and most stressful days, they always seemed to find a way to smile and still fit our birds in to their schedule. I hope to someday be involved with a practice similar to this.

Undoubtedly, the most enjoyable aspect of my experience at M.A.R.S was all the animals. I think what I enjoyed the most about the animals was watching their progress at the center. Although I liked working with them all, I could not possibly discuss each of the cases that I have seen since my arrival, so I will mention the ones that were most influential. The first that comes to mind is the juvenile barred owl that came in the night I arrived. I remember being completely in awe of this fuzzy creature with wide eyes and a beak that made scary clacking noises. I watched it progress from eating small mouse bits to engulfing a whole mouse in seconds! Towards the end of my stay it had changed from a cute fuzzy baby into a fully feathered owl capable of hunting live mice. Because my first month at the center was during baby bird season I was able to work with many more chicks. The robins and violet green swallow hatchlings kept me busy trying to get them to gape every fifteen minutes of the day. I had never seen anything so small and delicate. When they arrived, they were no bigger than my thumbnail, totally featherless, pink little bodies, with eyes closed. It was definitely a frustrating experience when we spent so much time trying to get them to eat and not one survived. On a more positive note, I was able to see three little robins change from bald gaping chicks to adults that were released on the property. Another memorable bird was "Woody", a young Pileated Woodpecker with a red mohawk and an attitude. He was always a fun bird to observe and it was extremely rewarding to see him released. A little more graceful that "Woody" was the Great Blue Heron, the Blue Grouse, and our beloved Bandtail Pigeon. It was a nice change to see a healthy bird everyday and "Ron", the Ringneck Turtle Dove, made me smile when he cooed in the evenings. Some of my favorite bird handling was with Bald Eagles. I was always in awe of their incredible strength and beauty. Although birds are the center’s primary focus, other critters did come through and changed up the routine a bit. It really does not get any better than bottle feeding a baby fawn or burping seal pups. Each animal that came through had different needs and interestingly, their own personality.

In addition to learning about the wildlife, I was able to see and learn more about the Comox valley. The interns have one day off a week and are usually dropped off in the morning and picked up in the evening. I spent these precious days enjoying the beach, going for long walks, hiking on Mount Washington and through the paradise meadows, biking, kayaking, and relaxing with some of the other volunteers. I was very impressed with the vast array of activities on the island and the friendly people. On one occasion a woman invited me out to her house for a day of bike riding, kayaking, and swimming with her family. The wonderful people I have come across, as well as the recreation opportunities, made for rejuvenating time off work.

Overall my time at M.A.R.S. has been one of the best experiences I have ever had. I learned more than I could have possibly expected and was able to spend two months in a beautiful area of the world. I would highly recommend an internship at M.A.R.S. for other students who are interested in working with wildlife and would like experience. However, I would caution that only students who are hard working, self sufficient, pro-active, able to work with little guidance and/or structure, comfortable with spending a fair amount of time alone, and can work with a variety of people should consider the experience. M.A.R.S. is located twenty minutes outside of Courtenay and for those used to being close to a community it may be challenging. I look forward to continuing my education and learning much more about wildlife.

Kelly Carlsten
University of Northern Colorado