Spring has sprung and the WILVOs Hotline 5441 6200 number is keeping our phone volunteers busy. It was great to see new Carers, Hotliners, and Transporters join at the last induction. Everyone enjoys the learning process and there is never a dull moment!
I have a very cute little bush stone-curlew chick in care at the moment. ‘Çheeky’ outgrew the humidicrib very quickly. This little 89g chick grew to 200 grams in the first week. The legs began to look like chopsticks! It is a delight to see her so young and chasing insects and jumping and dancing around the back yard in the cool of the late afternoon.
Curlews are very active at night and it is always fascinating to see all the instinctive behaviour in wildlife. Wildlife carers have to be avid researchers on all the species that come into care. We need our animals in care to mimic their natural ‘wild’ behaviour and diet as much as possible in preparation for return to the wild.
With fast growth and those lovely long legs, sunshine and exercise are extremely important to these birds, along with the correct diet. We saw the emu chicks thrive beautifully because they received the correct rehabilitation from the moment they came into care. Plovers too cannot grow correctly without the calcium requirements gained from diet, sunshine and exercise. They are all such busy little birds from such a young age.
Another call came through the Hotline for an adult curlew in Woombye, not far from the railway line. Curlews up north often lay their eggs close to the cane train line. Seems a strange place to nest, but maybe like the plovers that nest on roundabouts, they feel a little protected from some of the predators.
They know better than we do where they should lay their eggs! Help them by keeping pets contained, and it is best not to leave cat and dog food out.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au