PAWS Magazine

Issue 72, Spring 2009

A Very Special Job

It's your first day on the job, and you're feeling a little nervous. With shaking hands, you collect your supplies: syringes, gauze, tweezers and... mealworms? What kind of job is this? It's a very special one—you're a volunteer Bird Nursery Caretaker!

You enter the nursery at PAWS Wildlife Center and are immediately greeted with birdsong. Various chirps and brief melodies of orphaned wild baby birds soothe your nerves, and your excitement builds. As you uncover each basket, you are presented with open, hungry little mouths in a myriad of colors that could only be conceived of by nature: the scarlet of crows, the fluorescent purple of Cedar Waxwings, the delicate pink of chickadees and nuthatches. Even if you don't know much about wild birds, PAWS will teach you.

For five hours you feed these wondrous creatures, and before you know it, your shift is over. Humbled by the trust of these small beings whose lives are literally in your hands, you are thrilled at the opportunity to watch them grow, knowing they will soon be wild again. You can't wait to come back next week!

Sign up to be a Bird Nursery Caretaker or call 425.787.2500 x818.

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