GANDER, N.L. – Nestled together in a bed of sawdust, six starling chicks appear content with their new surroundings.
That is until Bonnie Harris, shelter manager for the Gander and Area SPCA, moves in to offer a snack on July 10.
Immediately, the chicks spring to life chirping, hungry for something to eat.
Harris called them hearty birds, feeding every hour on strains of wet cat food.
“I’d say they have eaten a can and a half since we took them in,” she said.
With bellies full, the chirping subsides as they settle down for a nap.
The invasive – non-native – species came into the SPCA’s possession, July 09, after being dropped off anonymously by an area resident who found the chicks in the vent of their home.
Harris estimates the chicks to have been between eight to 10 days old, as they have flight feathers coming in.
The shelter will keep the chicks until they are able to fend for themselves.
“They do imprint on humans, so we try to handle them as little as we can, because the more you handle them the more attached they become,” Harris said.
Because it’s not a case they take on very often, she assumes it will be at least a month before they are ready to leave the SPCA’s care.
“When they get older we will put them in an outside enclosure,” she said, adding it will allow the birds to be able to develop survival skills.
This isn’t the first time the SPCA has stepped in to assist wildlife, as it has cared for moose calves, owls and other wild creatures in the past.
Related: SPCA welcomes moose, owl to stay a while
“It’s not something we want to be doing, but when its placed in front of you, you do what you can do to help,” said Harris.
And removing young birds from an area altogether isn’t something the SPCA is recommending. Instead, Harris suggested, setting up an alternate nearby location, because “wildlife needs to be in the wild”. If a species has to be moved, she recommends using a birdhouse, so the mother can still find her young.
