Saturday, May 10, 2014

Wildlife Transport Volunteer

I are one now.

Went to a class the second of this month so that I could get approved for transporting wildlife from our area to rehab centers to the north of us.

FYI I had to put in the date because right now I'm not positive what week it is (I know that it is currently Saturday because I have to work Sunday...) due to swapping to night shifts at work for Wednesday and Thursday nights, then swapping back. I managed to sleep last night but my body is pretty much asking me what the hell I'm thinking, and I get to do it all over again next week. Though, I do have an extra day to swap back next week since I only have the one night shift.

Anywho, I went to the class where a nice lady basically explained things I already knew about wildlife and handling them.

Since the Wildlife Transport Volunteers sometimes get to be the first ones on scene when someone reports an animal in need of help, they get to be the one to catch said animal as well, so handling information is pretty vital to the whole thing.

So yeah, we got told all about how critters are sharp on all five corners and some advice for not getting bitten or scratched or otherwise mauled, and how wild animals can carry diseases and advice on how not to get them or spread them to your pets.

Anyway, me being the sucker that I am, I'm now on the call list for such things... and I'm the only one in the county, I think.

Even more fun than that is the fact that we discovered a crow's nest on one of the windmills. We discovered this when we went to turn the windmill on because that pasture was getting rented out. Five chicks, brand spanking new at that time, and it's all kinds of wound up in the mill and tied down with barbed wire.

So, we'll give em as much time as we can before we *have* to turn the mill on, and then I will go out and see if I can move the chicks to another area and get the parents to follow and continue feeding them. They're hatched, they get a chance, even if it means I have a pair of crows that hate me for the rest of their lives.

I have consulted our local wildlife guy, he's fine with me moving them, even if he is a little dubious about whether it will work or not. His main response was pretty much "good luck" though. I may call him to come stuporvise on the move, he's constantly trying to get pictures of the wildlife and such in our area and share with the locals... and with crows it does promise to be at least mildly entertaining in the process.

I'll see if I can at least get somebody to take some pictures when the time comes, to share the adventure with ya'll. If all else fails though, we're getting into orphaned kitten time of year, so we'll probably have some cuteness pictures before the summer is out.

4 comments:

Old NFO said...

Good for you! And good luck moving the chicks...

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Why do I see this being the start to many an adventure?

Hope you have some good tough gloves on when you come close to claws, beaks, horns, or hooves!

And good luck with the crows!

Home on the Range said...

That's excellent, and those critters will be in good hands with you taking care of them.

Chas S. Clifton said...

Hey, I do that too. Maybe we'll have a hand-off out on US 50 some day.