During the week I am a cog in the machine of a large high tech firm, working in a climate controlled building insulated from the outside world. The little bit of nature on my desk consists of a tiny bonsai tree and a couple of my nature photos on my cubicle wall. It's gray and quiet and consistent here and can at times lull you into a type of trance that is similar to that reflected in the eyes of a lion sitting in a cage at the zoo. Fortunately, I have the weekends to regain my connection with the natural world.
When I lived in Oregon, nature was always around me, but in the Bay Area of California, people have pushed much of the native wildlife up into the hills where the most expansive and expensive properties sit and look down upon the seething masses of people who live in their closely packed houses in the valley below.
In areas where the houses still have a little bit of backyard green, some wildlife holdouts have found their niche, nesting in shade trees and attics and garages and feasting on fruit from our trees, garbage and food we leave out for our pets. Usually the relationship is mutually beneficial, such as when we set out feeders and for birds which also enjoy eating the bugs from our garden. There are times, however, when our lives and their lives clash.
That is where the wildlife centers come in.
I found out about wildlife rehabilitation first hand two years ago thanks to my cat, who brought into the house a young finch. The bird was still alive and I managed to get it free from the cat's grip before it was able to do damage. I kept it overnight in a small cage and looked for help on the web the next day. I had heard about centers that take care of larger animals like bobcats and eagles and marine mammals, but wasn't sure about small birds. Luckily, I found a center that would take even the commonest little finch in and rehabilitate it.
The Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley is located next to Penitencia Creek in San Jose, on the road to Alum Rock Park. The WCSV is open 7 days a week and cares for a wide variety of injured and orphaned wildlife, from Red-Tailed Hawks to Eastern Gray Squirrels to House Finches. The center does not allow tours of the wildlife because every effort is made to rehabilitate the animals to the point that they can be released back to their homes in the wild. What a great idea. I brought in my little finch and was given a phone number and a tracking ID should I want to find out the status of the tiny patient. Then I decided I wanted to find out more about the place so I attended an orientation session the next week. I was so impressed, I signed up as a volunteer on the spot and started my first day of work that weekend.
Let me say up front that I had limited to no experience caring for wildlife. I witnessed a couple of failed baby bird rescues when I was young and I have had my share of pets (dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, ducks, hamsters, mice, and tropical fish) and a few "pet" lizards and frogs, but had no veterinary experience. Fortunately, the wildlife center provides on the job training. There are some experienced staff on hand all the time to help with the examinations and regular training classes are offered to those who want to learn more. After 2 years on the volunteer staff, I have learned how to clean and bandage wounds, how to splint legs, how to tube-feed a dove and various other animal care activities. Then there's the cleaning, and there is so much to clean: food dishes, towels used in the cages and carriers, cages, carriers, tabletops, syringes and nipples, floors, …. It's hard work, but once in a while you get a chance to see the rewards: when you release an animal back to its wildlife home. That's what makes all of the work worthwhile.
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