One day we were hitchhiking back to Smolyan from the Rozhen festival. A lady named Andreana gave us a ride and to our delight, she was a performer we saw that morning. She told us she was visiting her family in Smolyan but worked in another city called Stara Zagora. Her job was at the wildlife center rehabilitating and breeding large species of birds.
She kindly invited us to come visit her work if we're passing by. We ended up staying for 3 days! It was too good an opportunity to miss. They were glad to accept us as volunteers as well.
Time to work
The first task we got was preparing the breakfast. The birds were all meat eaters so we had to prepare dead animals… gross right?
TODAY'S MENU
- Male chicks
- Fish
- Chicken frame
- Rabbit
- Lamb
As a non-governmental organization (NGO) they had to find cheap meat to feed the birds. The chicks came from egg farms which didn't want them after determining their sex (1 day old chicks). It was a difficult task cutting up the small chicks - we had to remove their little claws and gut bits (because there could be traces of salmonella). That is the reality though, the meat you eat don't just grow on trees ready for the picking.
Time to Dig In!
With buckets full of fish and meaty pieces, we filled the rest with water so it's easier for them to eat. Big aviaries had groups of birds living together so we got to walk into their enclosure. The stalks were shy when we dropped off the buckets, but the big pelicans weren't so afraid. They loved their female handlers so the sight of us made them really jealous. Matt carried the food buckets so they were happy with him, but Pheng was the cameraman so wasn't liked as much.
Smaller birds in the private aviaries had food delivered by drop holes. We could still see them through peepholes. Some chicks hatched at the centre are being brought up with no human interaction so they can be released into the wild. We didn't get to see them.
Time for Spring Clean
In preparation for some exciting delivery, we cleaned up the aviary of the Bearded and the Black vultures. There was going to be two male black vulture joining the two females the next day. We cleaned their water pond, and raked and tidied the ground. The delivery was coming from Czechia so the place had to look amazing for the special guests.
Time for Inspection
Some birds are rehabilitated successfully but there's a catch. Once they're domesticated or permanently injured, they can't hunt or feed themselves. These birds could be re-homed in a zoo instead. On our second day, a group of rehabilitated birds were allowed to move to a home. Three stalks, two owls, a swan and a falcon were caught and put in a harness. Pheng had the opportunity to capture the two small owls.
In the clinic they got microchipped, medicated and dusted with antiparasite powder. They kept pretty still most of the time so we had no trouble - more opportunities to take photos right?
What did we learn
There are four species of vultures found in Bulgaria (black vulture, bearded vulture, Griffen vulture, Egyptian vulture). All four of them are in this center, but the Black and Bearded vultures are no longer living in the wilderness of Bulgaria.
The center runs a breeding programme for all four of the species. The only 2 bearded vultures and only 4 black vultures in Bulgaria, all are within the confines of this center.
When they breed they will be released elsewhere in Europe. There are currently 3 release sites and all are in Western Europe. There have been talks that the next release site will be in the Balkans and possibly in Bulgaria.
The Values of Volunteering
Andy and her co-workers took great care of us, educating us along the way. We learned about the reality of poaching and hunting, but also the possibility of giving birds a second chance in life. Such an experience is hard to come by, and to think all of this happened from a hitchhiking encounter!
Posted from Steem中文社区 : http://cnstm.org/blog/2019/08/16/volunteering-at-the-wildlife-rehabilitation-and-breeding-center/